7 Pendants
by Ayanoyuki
Summary: There was a rumour which stated that whoever retrieved all seven pendants in the other parallel world, he or she will be granted a wish. -The characters in the story have animal features E.g. ears and tails. -They possessed elemental power to battle.
1. Chapter 1

Ayano: There are definitely grammar errors (my sense of grammar is still as bad as ever)...this is my first time writing such a fanfic, so suggestions and comments are welcomed.

Sa, hajimemashou.

* * *

7 Pendants

(Prologue)

Excalique World was a place where five different animal clans existed. The place were filled with forests, rivers, mountains, and other sorts of natural features.

The animal clans were the Ookami (wolf), Neko (cat), Shirotora (white tiger), Kitsune (fox) and Karasu (raven). Each clan possessed an element power. The Ookami clansmen possessed Dark Flames, the Neko clansmen possessed Pure Electric, the Shirotora clansmen possessed Air, the Kitsune clansmen possessed Pure Flames and the Karasu clansmen possessed Dark Electric. The clansmen of each clan were actually humans born with their respective animal features - ears and tail. For example, if someone was from Ookami clan, he or she had wolf ears and tail. The only clan who did not have animal features was Karasu Clan.

There was a rumour that the first Devoured Night (known as cursed day) would occur on 12 December 5550, and that the next Devoured Night would occur on 12 December 5551. This was a cursed cycle which would happen every year, on the same date and time. Devoured Night is a dangerous and terrifying event where shapeless beasts named Deadless would roam throughout Excalique World, devouring people's souls. The victims would then turned themselves into Deadless, searching and eating others' souls. From 12 December 5550 onwards, Deadless would roam the region. They would devour people's souls during the cursed day, however, they would only harm and attack people during other normal days, not devouring their souls.

That rumour was told by a female named Sylvette who did not belong to any clan. She also told another rumour - 'There are seven pendants which exist in another parallel world, once all seven pendants are retrieved, a wish will be granted to the person who obtained all of them.'

(End of Prologue)

* * *

12 December 5550

A certain azure blue haired male laid against a tree trunk, clasping both his hands behind his head while gazing at the night sky.  
_  
There are no stars tonight, _he was slightly disappointed. _Anyway, that rumour seemed to be a lie. Nothing happened. After thirty minutes, it will be 13 December 5550._ He thought_.__ Who is this Sylvette anyway? _

'!' Without warning, he noticed an enormous black magic circle emerged on the ground of Ookami Clan's modern village, glowing brightly. Gradually, swirls of dark air fused together, forming shapeless beasts. Growling and howling, countless of those beasts dashed across the area, searching for souls which would satisfy their hunger. Many clansmen summoned Dark Flames to counter them, ripping and killing them. Those who were unsuccessful got their souls devoured.

Instantly, the whole modern village was stained with blood, Dark Flames were burning at every corner and screams and shouts were filling the atmosphere. Some people were completely stunned as they were not fast enough to react, some were boiling with frustration as they fought hard against the beasts, others were crying in fear.

Mikuo widened his eyes, refusing to believe that the rumour was true. The original peaceful village had became chaotic.

'Kya!'

'!' A female voice shrieked which startled him, causing him to prick his wolf ears. From the loudness of the voice, he knew that she near and something else was chasing after her. In an instant, he heard the rustle of leaves and someone fell to the ground. When she lifted her head, the female stretched an arm towards Mikuo.

'H-Help...me.' Tears were streaming down her frightened face. Before he could react, a beast pounced on top of her while growling, driving out her soul. The sight of it was gruesome to the very core. The victim gradually turned into dark perished air and was forming some kind of a shape - similar to the beast.

The azure blue haired male immediately knew that he was going to be the prey of two Deadless. Of course, he was terrified. However, deep down within him, he sensed something was awakening.  
_  
Kill these low-life._A dark voice echoed in his mind, startling him for a moment. Mikuo knew that his dark personality was showing up. Instantly, his eyes flashed with Dark Flames and a sky blue magic circle emerged on the ground where both Deadless were standing on. A gush of Dark Flames burst upwards and continued to flared. Knowing that his enemies might as well be dead, he immediately left the Ookami territory.

_This place is no longer safe...no, this world is no longer safe._He thought, his dark personality was fading.

In the beginning, he was strolling out towards the entrance, as time passed, his pace hastened. Before he realised it, he was running.

'Kh! Why didn't I save her?' Gritting his teeth, he asked himself. The image of that female terrified expression kept emerging in his mind, as though haunting him.

(An hour had passed)

Mikuo lied silently on the grassless patch beside a boulder, his head resting on an arm. Although it was not as comfortable as the bed at home, he did not mind. Too much stuff had happened all of a sudden, causing him to be confused. Then, he recalled the second rumour - retrieving of the seven pendants in another parallel will grant that person a wish.

'What is this parallel world anyway...' He mumbled.  
_  
Nothing will change if I worried about it now. _Not wanting to care much, he closed his eyes and rested.

(Morning)

Sensing a ray of sunlight shining on his face, Mikuo slowly opened his right eye. When he realised that the objects above him were tall trees and leaves instead of ceiling, he finally accepted reality.  
_  
So that was not a dream. _He sulked innocently. From that day onwards, he knew that life was not going to be the same.

'Whatever, let's search for breakfast.' He told in a laid back tone.

* * *

Some parts deep in the woods, a crimson haired female accidentally stepped onto a ''trap''. Instantly, a black magic circle emerged on the ground where she was standing and arrow-headed chains shot up from it, tying both her wrists and ankles, pinning her down to the ground, Gradually, blood oozed out from her wrists and ankles.

'Tch, I let my guard down.' She attempted to break the chains forcefully but to no avail, this action caused her wounds to worsen as more blood flowed out. When she created a Pure Flame magic circle to counter against that black spell, the effect was immediately cancelled out, exactly what she had expected.

'Curse those Deadless.' She frowned as her plight made her felt vulnerable and she hated it. There was nothing she could do.

'!' In an instant, she heard footsteps approaching her which caused her to prick her ears.  
_  
It must be Deadless._She thought, fixing her eyes in the direction where the footsteps were heard. The sound gradually became louder as time passed and the atmosphere around her was rather tense as she continued glaring. The next moment, the unknown figure made his way out of a bush and the female noticed a certain azure blue haired male. Then, the two of them exchanged glances as though stunned to meet each other coincidentally.

'Morning.' Mikuo smiled, waving a hand. When he realised that she was trapped and injured, he approached her to help. However, this action made her waried.

'Back off, or I will slash that neck of yours!' She scowled, having an aura that would make anyone think twice about approaching her.

'You can't, your wrists are chained down.' He told in a calm tone while continuing ambling towards her.

'Tch!' An anger mark appeared on her forehead as she casted a glance to the side. 'You are too meddlesome.'

After creating a Dark Flame magic circle on top of the black magic circle, the spell immediately dispelled and the chains vanished. Hence, the female was freed.

'The person who is caught by the spell won't be able to free himself, only someone who is not caught by it can release the person. You knew that, didn't you?' He inquired. She simply ignored.

'!' They heard a sudden footstep rushing towards their direction and they sensed a familiar presence. As expected, a beast instantly revealed itself, staring at them with bloody red eyes.

'This deadless must have been attracted by the smell of blood.' She commented, immediately standing up. When she stood, her wounded ankles felt the pressure and was straining in pain. Despite that, she did not even showed the slightest hurtful expression as she did not care. Narrowing his eyes, Mikuo decided to think of something.

'At this rate, more Deadless will appear due to the smell of blood.' Charging her right hand with Pure Flames, the crimson haired female prepared to send an uppercut. The sight of Deadless annoyed and disgusted her as it was drooling non-stop and moaning as though it had a terrible headache.

'I have a plan!' Mikuo suddenly spoke.

'Heh~? A plan?' she inquired, refusing to show that she was interested.

'LET'S RUN FOR OUR LIVES!' In an instant, the azure blue haired male grabbed and carried her in his arms, turning in the opposite direction and sprinted off.

'U-Uwa!' The female was stunned by the sudden change of events. 'What are you doing? This is what you call a plan?!' She was utterly confused, however, she was even more shocked that she was carried by a mere person like him.

'...' Not getting any explanation or reply, she felt irritated as an anger mark appeared on her forehead. _T-This...carefree idiot._

She sighed, 'I guess I will help you a little.' Summoning Pure Flames, she transferred them to him.

'Arigatou.' He mumbled, sensing an increase in speed. Actually, he decided to escape since she was not in any state to fight. Furthermore, more Deadless would be attracted by the smell of her blood, leading them to be in a greater disadvantage. He felt that the ankles would hurt a lot if she ran, thus carrying her was the best option.

Whenever he zoomed passed animals or trees, a strong gust of wind would swept across the area before everything resumed back to normal. 'T-This is really fast.' He was travelling at random direction with a speed of 100m/s. It's a miracle that he had not bumped into any obstacles. By now, they were already too far away from the Deadless, thus the threat was over.

After ten minutes, the effect wore off. Initially, he was sprinting, gradually slowing down to running, then to jogging, followed by walking and ambling. Finally, he had no more energy left to run, collapsing to the ground. His soul came out of his mouth, drifting on mid air and his eyes had twirls of confusion. Before he collapsed, the female managed to get off his arms.

'I...see...stars...' He told in a shaky tone.

WHAM.

'!' Mikuo's eyes widened as he felt a sharp pain. 'What was that for?' He touched his head gently.

'See? You snapped out of it.' The crimson haired female smirked. Turning his head sideway, the azure blue haired male sulked.

'Anyway, this is goodbye.' She turned to leave. 'Don't interfere with me again.' She told in a stern tone.

'Wait, I have a question.' He instantly requested. The female turned around, having a grim expression. 'What?'

'Do you know about that parallel world? The route to it.'

'?' She tilted her head. '...You mean the world which the seven pendants existed. Well, I don't know anything about this world. This rumour is told by Syl...silly...Syl-whatever right? You want to obtain the pendants?'

He nodded, 'her name is Sylvette by the way.'

'Interesting. Then I shall go with you to explore that world. I have nothing to look forward to in this world anyway.' She told in a fascinated tone. this made Mikuo widened his eyes in jubilation.

'You look silly.' Startled by his reaction, the female commented.

'Hehe, it's just that,' He smiled,' you are my first friend!'

WHAM.

'Who said that we are friends? We are just...just...' She could not find an appropriate word to describe. Although she had a grim expression, deep down, she was elated that Mikuo considered her as his friend. She smiled slightly.

'You like hitting me?' He had a troubled expression, then, he immediately remembered something.

'What's your name? Mine is Mikuo'

'Kiku.'

'I see. Nice to meet you, Kiku chan-'

WHAM.

'Don't add ''chan'' to my name!' She flushed a little.

'Fine then,' Mikuo smiled, did not seemed to mind getting hit often. 'Nice to meet you, Kiku.'

'It's not nice to meet you, Baka Ookami.'

* * *

Ayano: Arigatou to otanoshimini. -Smile-


	2. Chapter 2

7 Pendants

(In the woods, 12:47 p.m.)

Mikuo and Kiku was briskly walking without any place in mind. There was silence among them as they continued being deep in their own thoughts.

'Kiku,'

'What?' She inquired in an uninterested tone.

'How is your injuries?'

'They are recovering faster than I thought.' She replied, 'don't ask unnecessary questions like this.'

'Hehe,' He smiled, gazing up at the sky.

'Curse that Deadless, setting up that spell.' She had a pissed off expression. 'The next time I see it, I will rip and tear it apart, roast it, mince it, skin it alive.' She was surrounded with a murderous dark aura. Her sentence made him sweatdropped.

'Well, I was careless to let my guard down too.' She added, the aura around her instantly perished.

Thinking for a few seconds, the azure blue haired male spoke while continue walking. 'Let's meet Sylvette at Hoshikawa Lake.'

That caught her attention as it was her first time hearing that place.

'I heard that she lived there for awhile now. That place is at a hill near Shirotora Clan.' He explained.

Deep in thoughts, Kiku had a stern expression. 'Baka Ookami.'

'Hm?' He turned to her, having a questioning look.

'You believed in that rumour right?'

'...H-Hn.' He nodded, 'Initially I did not believed about the first rumour - the one about Devoured Night occurring every year. However, it happened and that disturbed me.' His expression became serious. 'So I decided to believe the second rumour - retrieval of the seven pendants and that single wish.'

She narrowed her eyes. 'Somehow, I don't trust her.'

'...' Mikuo did not respond, having a calm composure.

_ What choice do we have left? Believing in that second rumour is the only ''hope'' for now, _He thought.

Their destination now was to reach Neko Clan (shortcut to Shirotora Clan), then travel to Shirotora Clan, and finally to Hoshikawa Lake.

(Two hours had passed)

They saw a sign which indicated that they were a few kilometres away from Neko Clan territory.

'When night falls, we will be able to arrive there...but...' The azure blue haired male had a troubled expression, 'it is kind of disrespectful to enter other clans' territories.' He forced a smile - an expression which Kiku called it ''foolish''.

'But we need to cross it in order to reach Shirotora Clan. You have other plans or something?' Somehow, the crimson haired female was irritated.

'No, just that-'

WHAM.

'Don't be so indecisive,' an anger mark appeared on her forehead. 'You are the one who wanted to visit her.' She informed.

'Hmm...' Mikuo thought for a while, getting used to being hit. 'Then let's stick to this plan, we will see how things go by then.' He stated.

'If the situation becomes unpleasant, we can always resort to violence.' Kiku's ruby eyes glistened threateningly.

'Violence cannot solve everything.'

Travelling to Neko Clan was tougher than they thought, it is located somewhere in the middle of steep mountains and shallow fast-flowing rivers. After climbing up and down of a steep mountain, they had to swim across a river, then encountered with another mountain again, then river, and on and on like a cycle.

(Evening, 6:51 p.m.)

'They sure picked the best area for a clan.' The crimson haired female spoke sarcastically, already exhausted. Her half-healed injuries were slowing her down.

'This is never ending.' Mikuo breathed rather heavily. When he realised that there were a few more to go, he had an expression of there-are-still-more?!.

After a few steps, both of them collapsed to the ground at the same time.

GROWL.

Pricking her fox ears, Kiku narrowed her eyes. 'Tch, Deadless are in this area too.'

'You see...those beasts are not the only ones that growl.' The azure blue haired male told in a matter-of-fact tone, grinning at her. The female sweatdropped, figured out what he meant.

'Your stomach seriously picked the wrong time.' She hid a smirking expression.

GROWL.

She flushed immediately.

'See? Yours growl too.' Mikuo hid a teasing expression.

WHAM.

Standing beside a river of fast-flowing water, both of them peered down to search whether there were any fishes which could handle the extreme water pressure, not being swept away by it.

'Oh, there are.' He spotted a few idling along the river bank.

'Hm, I shall catch one now.' A ferocious aura swirled around Kiku as she began lifting up her left hand gradually, she was confident to catch at least one. The next moment, she swiped her hand down to the water where those fishes were idling. There was a short epic moment (at least that was what Mikuo thought).

None in her hand when she raised it up.

'Tch, this is tougher than I thought.' She mumbled to herself.

'Yosh, my turn next.' Flames of determination whirled around him when he told. Kiku had an expression of I-doubt-you-could-do-it.

Within a few seconds, there were two in his hands. However, they were weeds, not fishes.

'Pfft!' The crimson haired female turned to the opposite direction and placed a palm to her mouth, controlling not to laugh. The azure blue haired male had an innocent sulking expression while staring at those weeds.

After a while, he clapped both his palms on his cheeks twice, trying to be optimistic. 'Let's try again!.' With that, they attempted countless times.

SPLASH.

None in his hands.

'I'm going to curse you if you are not caught by me.'

SWIPE.

None in her hands.

SPLASH.

None in his hands.

'You will experience your worst nightmare if you refuse to be caught by me.'

'Oh? Do fishes dream?' He inquired.

(An hour had passed)

Both of them panted in exhaustion, Mikuo had an expression of well,-no-choice-about-it while Kiku had a pissed off expression.

In the end, they ate wildberries which were hanging on the bushes.

* * *

(Neko Clan, 11:22 p.m.)

The faint light from the moon shimmers to show a scattered courtyard. Puddles of blood were everywhere and carcasses were left piled up beside a wooden door. Pure Electric shock was flickering on some of the carcasses showing evidence that many of them tried to use their power to fight back before their death. It was obvious to Mikuo and Kiku that this place was invaded, they took a quick glance to search for survivors but found none.

'These clansmen were either killed and transformed themselves into Deadless or managed to fled into the mountains.' He assumed. Turning his head to stare at the carcasses, he realised that many of their inner organs were dug out.

'Well, at least we do not need to worry about the consequences of roaming on others' territories.' Kiku stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

'Let's find somewhere to stay overnight, this place is too bloody and loathsome, like mine.' Mikuo suggested.

'Your clan?'

'Hn,' he nodded, '...it got invaded by Deadless.'

'I see.'

'What about yours?'

'...' Her fox ears twitched a little as she narrowed her eyes. 'We should rest for now.' Kiku quickly walked away further into a cave beside the clan to avoid the question. Her expression showed discomfort. Tilting his head, the azure blue haired male wondered if he had spoke anything unpleasant.

(In the cave, 11:26 p.m.)

The cave was deeper and wider than they thought. Each route leads to two paths, followed by another two paths and another and another. Having to choose one of the paths to proceed, the situation was getting more confusing and complicated. On the walls, ancient pictures were carved which Mikuo felt that they were too difficult to understand while Kiku thought them as insignificant.

'Where are you going?' He inquired.

'Until we have walked to the end of the cave.'

'Why?'

'It looks interesting.' Kiku attempted a lie. However, Mikuo did not notice that she was lying. Sweatdropping, he spoke.

'There is nothing interesting in it, we are just getting even more lost.' They continued to proceed down the path which seems like eternity. As they walked, the slope became steeper, rougher and darker which made it more tougher to continue.

Without warning, a spark of Pure Electric dazzled before their eyes, landing on the ground in front of them as though it was a warning. The sudden attack caused their wolf and fox ears to pricked as they increased their alertness. It was clear to Mikuo and Kiku that the one who did that was from Neko Clan. Despite being right next to each other, they were unable to spot themselves due to the extreme darkness.

'Tch.' Creating a crimson magic circle on the ground, she summoned Pure Flames to light up the area. They laid their backs against one another, keeping a lookout at the spacious surrounding as it was possible for another surprise attack on them. Even with the light, they still could not spot anyone else.

'State your motive.' Kiku asked in an icy tone, she sounded as if she wanted to fight him or her off immediately. Kiku's voice indicated that she was not a Deadless which alarmed the twins because they had expected that the ''intruders'' were dangerous existences.

'Ngh...we seemed to have mistaken them.' A female voice spoke within the area, having a troubled tone.

'See? I told you not to recklessly attack them.' A male voice responded.

'Well, I never expected that they were from other clans.' She pouted. Two figures gradually revealed themselves from the shadows.

'Ehehe...sorry for the trouble caused.' A yellow haired female smiled sheepishly while sticking her tongue out. She had white cat ears and tail, a white ribbon tied on her head.

'Our clan had just been attacked by Deadless a few moments ago, that's why we're being overly sensitive.' A yellow haired male explained, half apologizing for what his sister had done. He had black cat ears and tail. Kiku relaxed a little while Mikuo sighed out of relief - he disliked fighting.

'Do you know the way out of this cave? We are kind of...lost.' He told with an expression which seemed to blame Kiku for it. She immediately casted her glance at another direction, not wanting to admit it was her that caused them to be lost.

'This cave is more like a maze. It is a secret passage that connects from the Neko clan to a hill near Shirotora Clan' The male replied. '

'We know the way out, but it's going to take a whole night to reach the other end of the cave.' Swaying her white tail, the female added.

'Thanks for leading us the way,' The azure blue haired male smiled, 'you can call me Mikuo.'

'Oh, my name is Rin.'

'Mine is Len.'

'Nice to meet you.' The twins told in unison while smiling.

'Just call me Kiku.'

* * *

(Morning, 7:31 a.m.)

Mikuo stretched his arms and gazed at the expectedly azure blue sky. Instead, it was pouring heavily, lightning flashed occasionally followed by a clap of thunder. There was not a sign of energetic or lively atmosphere.

'...Guess we have no choice but to stay in the cave until the rain stops.' Mikuo told.

'And we have finally reached the end of the cave.' Rin stated with a disappointed look.

'Let's take this chance to sleep. We have not had a wink last night.' Len suggested. Mikuo and Rin agreed while Kiku was silent for the whole time. Soon, they all lied on a spot in the cave and rested. The crimson haired female lied at a corner facing the wall to avoid eye contact with the others, her head resting on an arm. Keeping an eye closed while the other half opened, the words which Mikuo asked her earlier echoed in her mind.

_What about yours? _She tried to push away that question to the back of her mind, but to no avail.

_How long has it been since I left my clan? _Kiku wondered while tilting her head to one side, allowing a shadow to cast on her face.

_In the end... I didn't get to know the sin that she did... _She gritted her teeth.

* * *

Ayano: Yonde kurete arigatou...otanoshimini._  
_


	3. Chapter 3

7 Pendants

(Cave, 12:12 p.m.)

The rain had stopped pouring, bringing in rays of sunlight into the cave, brightening it. Sensing warmth on his face, the azure blue haired male opened his eyes gradually and realised a dark rough wall above him. It took his sleepy mind quite a while to realise that he had been sleeping in that cave for...

_Hmm, how long have I slept? _He got out of the cave and peered at the sky, the position of the sun told him that it was afternoon. When he looked around the cave, Kiku was still sleeping while the twins were nowhere to be found.

_Might as well take a look around this place._ He thought.

The scenery was different than the ones that Mikuo had been travelling on. There was a long and narrow depression between two areas of higher lands, forming a valley filled with vegetation and floodplains. Up ahead far from the valley was a huge waterfall streaming down from the other side. No, not just 'the other side'. It was actually the Neko Clan. He was curious on how the cave was made to connect from Neko clan to this valley, the distance was at least ten kilometres.

Noticing a signboard which labelled ''Shirotora Clan'' on a grassless patch, Mikuo realised that he was already in the clan's territory. When he turned to his right, there was a faraway hill with its peak shrouded with mists. _Hoshikawa Lake must be at that peak. _He thought, _is Sylvette really there?_

'Morning.' A familiar female voice greeted plainly from behind, startling him as he did not heard any footsteps coming his way.

'Good afternoon, Kiku.' He greeted back, waving a hand and had that usual smile.

'Oh, both of you are awake.' The azure blue haired male turned to the direction where the sound came from and noticed Rin. Len later showed up.

'Good afternoon.' They greeted in unison.

'So, where are you planning to go next?' Len inquired.

'Hoshikawa Lake.' Mikuo replied, 'to ask Sylvette about the other parallel world.'

Len blinked once in seriousness as he instantly thought of something. 'You mean the second rumour which she told?'

'Hn.' He nodded. 'I don't know whether I should believe it since it is just a rumour...however,' He hanged a concerned expression, 'since the first rumour is true, I decided to trust this second rumour.' He mumbled.

'What wish are you going to make after gathering all seven pendants?' Rin inquired.

'Hmm...' Mikuo pondered for a while before replying, 'I'm not quite sure about it but I want back the peaceful life that we once had.'

'That would be great. Then I can laze around all day again' The yellow haired female commented, murmuring softly on that last sentence.

'Excalique World is currently full of dangerous existences.' Len referred to Deadless.

The next moment, Rin's expression became rather sheepish. 'Erm...' She flushed slightly, 'you won't mind if we go to that parallel world with you...right?'

Mikuo's neutral expression changed. 'Hn!' His eyes were gleaming with delight, feeling blissed to make two more friends while Kiku did not seemed to mind.

(12:43 p.m.)

Soon, everyone was passing through the vegetation and headed their way towards the valley. Down the valley, there was a modern village full of life - housewives were either buying groceries or chatting with each other, children were chasing around etc.

_Shirotora clan was not invaded by Deadless, _Somehow, Mikuo was relieved. After a few minutes of sauntering, Mikuo halted and stared at the crimson haired female beside him

_Strange...she is quieter and slower today._ He thought, wondering whether he was being overly sensitive. Feeling slightly uncomfortable, Kiku seemed to notice his stare and gave him a stern look.

'What?'

'No, nothing.' Mikuo hanged a neutral expression and looked back in front.

WHAM.

'Oww,' He did not expect that, having an innocent accused expression.

'I felt like it.' Kiku told.

'Kyaaahhhhh!' Without warning, a female voice was screaming behind them, followed by the sound of footsteps rushing towards their direction. Len turned around and noticed a female with white tiger ears and striped tail frantically sprinting towards them.

'She is from Shirotora clan.' Rin stated.

'Probably someone with too much time to waste.' Kiku told bluntly, having an expression of I-don't-care.

'Run for your life!' The female shouted. Everyone gave her a questioning look, thinking that she was not making any sense.

_Why must we run?_ The azure blue haired male thought. Gradually, black figures began to appear behind the pigtail haired female. As seconds passed, the scene was getting clearer and clearer, showing a whole bunch of Deadless chasing her.

'!' Everyone widened their eyes. 'UWAAAA...!' Escaping to the other direction, they immediately forgot that they had to travel to Hoshikawa Lake. And so it seemed as though the group of travellers were being chased by a female with white tiger ears and tail, and the female was being chased by Deadless.

'Wait, why are you following us?!' Rin questioned.

'I don't know! This direction seemed convenient.' She had a nervous tone.

'Don't cause us problems!' Kiku snapped, feeling that it was better to just fight against the Deadless instead of running away as it was not her style to escape. They continued to search for a safe place while escaping, thus they were off track from their destination. Before they realised it, they were cornered at a cliff.

'W-What do we do? Jump off the cliff?' The pigtail haired female panicked.

'N-No way, it's too high!' Rin stated, refusing to even peered down from the cliff.

'Fight them until they rot and die.' Kiku replied in a dark tone while summoning Pure Flames flared on her left palm, preparing for a blast. As soon as she saw a black figure roaming around the rocks, she released the fire without hesitation. Mikuo supported it by fusing her Pure Flames with his Dark Flames, increasing its destructive level and power. The fusion flame gushed towards the target, engulfing them. Even though many were burnt to ashes from the short range circular blast, some of them approached with a stronger murderous aura.

'Anymore damage or loud noises made would cause too much of a scene. Especially since we're near a village.' The pigtail haired female warned. 'Besides, this cliff seems like it's going to collapse.' Soon, she hanged an apologetic expression as she felt guilty for saying that since everyone was helping her indirectly. Rin grinned at her.

'Len.' She signalled. Len responded with a nod. Without giving any warning to the Deadless, the twins darted towards them, showing an electrifying smile. One of the Deadless attempted to bite Rin with their poisonous fang but she dodged it easily with a leap to the air.

'It's futile. Speed is our greatest ability.'

Both their eyes flashed with Pure Electric as they dashed through the rocks, Rin slashed through whoever that would harm their friends by inducing Pure Electric into them. Len gathered electrons on one hand while generating Pure Electric on the other, preparing for a one-shot paralysis blow while Rin mostly attacked the Deadless along the sides which would interfere what his brother was planning. As though their minds were in sync, the yellow haired female immediately did a backflip up to the air just when Len released the paralysis blow. The attack caused the air around them to be pushed back forcefully as volts waltzed across the area, flowing through the Deadless' veins. Subsequently, those beasts were paralysed severely while Rin dodged the blow.

When she was about to land, she stretched an arm towards the ground, spreading out her fingers. At the same time where her palm slammed the ground, Len did the same. Hence, a spell was activated as bright yellow magic circles emerged from the ground where the Deadless were standing. The next moment, blades of Pure Electric burst up from the magic circles, striking the Deadless silently. Needless to say, the beasts were instantly killed.

The twins' flawless teamwork amazed Mikuo and Kiku while the pigtail haired female's eyes were gleaming with awe.

'You were concerned about the situation causing unnecessary ruckus right?' Rin turned to that female, 'this silent-killer attack ensures that would not happen.' she smiled.

'Arigatou!' Her eyes lightened as she was grateful to meet people like them.

'Save your thanks for later.' The crimson haired female commented as she heard footsteps nearing them, 'someone is coming.' Pricking their animal ears, everyone else heard footsteps too.

'He or she may be a clansman from Shirotora Clan,' Len suspected, 'it is possible that they noticed the smokes and flames.'

'We need to hide or they would accuse us for destroying the nature.' The pigtail haired female told in a nervous tone, looking around to search for a hiding place.  
_  
Destroying the nature? _Kiku had an anger mark on her forehead as she believed that ''Baka Ookami'' and her flames were meant for those Deadless to perish.

'Oh, there's a cave under the cliff.' Mikuo announced while peering down. That was when he realised that the view of Excalique World from the top was spectacular. Soon, everyone climbed down towards the dark cave. In that process, Rin had a tough time as she had to forced herself not to stare down (the cliff was at least twenty five metres high). Once they were in the ''hiding place'', everyone heaved a sigh of relief.

'This will save us the trouble for explaining why there were flames.' Mikuo stated. For the next few minutes, there were silence as they waited for the unknown person above them to quickly investigate and walk away. The azure blue haired male gazed out of the cave to continue to watch the picturesque beauty of the Excalique World, somehow, gazing at those natural features relaxed his mind.

In the inner part of the cave, she casted a glance around, feeling extreme boredom. When she spotted that Rin's ankles were strained, her white tiger ears twitched and she had a worried expression.

'Won't your ankles hurt?' She stared at Rin, 'they are slightly swollen now.'

'Ehe, I accidentally got scratched by those Deadless. It would heal after a while.' The yellow haired female assured her. In an instant, she had a determined expression. 'I'll heal it.' She decided, 'since everyone saved me from all the troubles, this is the least I could do.'

Placing both palms on Rin's ankles, the female had a serious expression as though focusing on something. Immediately, a spherical bright pink light surrounded her hands and Rin felt a gentle warmth emitting on her injury. The swollen part gradually faded away and the skin colour returned to its normal state.

Note: Shirotora clansmen possessed air as their elemental power, they had three abilities which were ''healing'', ''supporting/boosting'' and ''codes-manipulating''(this is a spell which can cancel out the effect of another spell or change the spell totally, the pigtailed female will perform it in the future chapters)

'Amazing, it is totally fine now.' The yellow haired female did not feel any straining on her ankles anymore. 'Arigatou.'

Her striped white tail swayed affectionately, glad that she could help.

_As expected from a Shirotora's clansman. _Mikuo thought.

The next moment, they heard a male voice spoke above them. 'This seemed to be a flame blast,' someone commented, his voice indicated that he was an adult.

'Pure and Dark Flames...clansmen from Ookami and Kitsune must have been here a few moments ago.' Another person stated in a stern tone.

'Do we need to tell the respective leaders of the clans about this?'

'As for the Ookami clan, there's not a need to. Their clan was invaded and destroyed by those beasts three days ago.' Hearing that statement, Mikuo glanced sideway and his eyes narrowed, feeling rather disturbed. Those words were the worst thing to be heard.

'As for the Kitsune clan...' Kiku's fox ears pricked at the mention of her clan. 'Well, we are not telling them. Maybe this is a coincidence or something.'

'Heh, You are as soft as ever.' The other teased. The footsteps gradually faded away as the couple continued to saunter and chat leisurely, they were unable to spot Pure Electric evidences because the evidences disappeared when those Deadless perished.

'Well, at least we can relax now.' The pigtail haired female had a relieved expression, heading towards the mouth of the cave and attempted to climb up. Even after several tries, she failed.

(Next minute)

Mikuo tried to climb up too. Failed.

(Next minute)

The twins tried. Failed.

Rin had a pouting expression.

(Next minute)

Kiku tried. Failed.

'Curse this cliff.' The crimson haired female snapped. After awhile, a faint sound of running water echoed in the cave, catching their attention.

'There are water in this cave?' Len had a questioning look. Their intuition told them to search and approach the source of the sound. It gradually became louder with every step taken. The dark and rough path ahead of them soon vanished, revealing a a wide river channel.

'Eh?! A river?' Mikuo was astounded, never knew there would be one in a cave. The water were flowing slowly in a single direction, however, it seemed strong enough to even swept away a person.

'It is best to jump in,' Kiku suggested, 'this river may flow out of this cave.' Since there was no other way out, everyone agreed that idea, preparing for a plunge. Once they were in the river, they slowly surfaced up and took a breathe.

'It is so refreshing~' Twitching her white tiger ears, the pigtail haired female commented in a relaxing tone. Soon, everyone dived down and swam in the direction where the river was flowing. Within a couple of seconds, they noticed a bright light in front of them which became larger as time passed.

_That must be the exit._Mikuo suspected, continuing swimming towards it. Immediately, Len gestured to them to resurface above the river, his facial expression indicated that he had something urgent to inform. With questioning looks, everyone swam up.

'This river is in a cave of a cliff. This means that we are high up above the ground.' When they were at the river surface, he told.

Widening her eyes, Rin instantly caught what he meant. 'Then, there would be a waterfall ahead.' she was half-gasping as she remembered how high the cliff was. Before they realised it, they were already at the edge of the cave, thus they would be ''thrown'' out to the opening at any moment. It seemed as though the pigtail haired female was the only one who was anticipated and thrilled about experiencing being ''thrown'' by waterfall.

'...' Shutting her eyes tight, Kiku covered her ears as hard as possible because she knew what was about to happen next.

'AAAAAAhhhhhh!' There was a prolonged scream.

'Ahahaha, this is so fun!' Another female voice shouted.

(Seven seconds had passed)

The noise seized when everyone dropped into a plunge pool below the waterfall. Gradually, they swam towards the water surface.

'Cough*Cough* I thought...I was about to die...' Rin could not believe she were ''thrown off'' with that height, still having a shocked expression. Len and Kiku got out of the water, he dried himself and glanced at the new surroundings while she sat on a grassless patch, leaning her back against a tree to catch her breath.

'We...are finally...out.' Mikuo was partially submerged in the water, his hands were sprawling onto the ground and his eyes had whirls of confusion. The pigtail haired female was the only one who was still energetic.

'Let's go to Shirotora village. I will treat everyone.' She grinned before introducing herself.

'Name is Teto.' She flicked her index and middle fingers to form a V-shape, she had a festive atmosphere surrounding her.

'You can call me Mikuo,' The whirls in his eyes vanished.

'My name is Rin.'

'Mine is Len.'

'Nice to meet you.' The twins greeted in unison while smiling.

'Kiku.'

With that, everyone started heading towards the modern village.

(Somewhere near Shirotora Clan, 3:20 p.m.)

A certain soldier brisked pass a route which Mikuo and his friends had took initially. His fox ears twitched and he hanged a stern expression as he sensed the presence of a female whom he had been searching for.

'After all these years,' his expression changed into an evil one, 'I have finally found you, Daughter of the Sinner.'

* * *

Ayano: Arigatou to otanoshimini.


	4. Chapter 4

7 Pendants

(Café, 4:54 p.m.)

Everyone sat at a corner, and could not eat anymore snacks.

'Hey Kiku,' the azure blue haired male spoke, having a serious expression. 'I have been wondering why you only ate cookies...and I found the answer.' He had an air of confidence around him.

'Heh~, interesting.' The crimson haired female told in a fascinated tone. _I like cookies and that's all, is it necessary to have a reason?_ She wondered. The rest stared at him with questioning looks.

'Your name is Kiku right?'

Everyone nodded.

'Well, if you say it backwards then it would be Kuki.' He began explaining, 'doesn't that sounds like cookie?' He joked, giggling slightly at that. The twins immediately sweatdropped while the pigtail haired female was trying to control her laughter.

'...' Kiku, on the other hand, peered down at the coffee table, darkening her face and not showing any expression. Seconds later, huge Pure Flames whelmed up behind her as she lifted her face up. Her ruby eyes gleamed with murderous intent while she grinned evilly.

'Making fun of my name...you definitely have a death wish.' She stated in a dark tone. 'Well then, prepare yourself.' Feeling insulted, she sent all kinds of physical attacks (uppercut, punch, kicks, slashes etc) to him. However, he easily dodged them (after being hit so many times by her, he knew how and where she would send), hanging his usual laid back smile. The attacks were definitely more than usual but she made sure that they were not strong enough to injure him.

Rin and Teto watched in amusement. Len would not be surprised if the café was burnt to ash or half of it was ripped apart.

'At least you returned to your normal self.' Mikuo suddenly spoke, causing her fox ears to prick. One of her arms held in mid air that was about to hit him.

'Eh?' She blinked once.

'You seem to be thinking of something depressing recently.' He replied, eyes that was filled with mischief changed to concern.

The yellow haired female nodded. 'What's wrong?' Apparently, they (Mikuo, Rin and Len) had already noticed her strange behaviour from two days ago and was worried ever since.

Widening her eyes, the crimson haired female was stunned to discover that there would be people who are worried for her. She opened her mouth slightly as though she wanted to say something but closed it again. Soon, she got up from her position after telling them that it was nothing.

'It is not something you should meddle with.' With that, Kiku hastened her pace and walked out of the cafe. Instantly, the atmosphere around them was tense and unpleasant, something which Teto disliked.

'We should leave too.' The azure blue haired male suggested. The twins agreed. Hanging an apologetic expression for leaving so early, they said their gratitude to Teto for her treat.

She shook her head, 'It is okay.' She smiled, showing a hint of sadness which she hid it deeply. With that, they left too, following the direction which the crimson haired female took hurriedly.

In the café, Teto remained seated, gazing out of the glass window with empty eyes._ Eh? why am I sad? _She was confused as she searched for a reason. _Ah, that's right...it has been a while since I enjoyed myself that much.' _She stared at them who were about to vanish from her sight. They were still supposed to be strangers right? ...No, not now. She decided to change things.

The next moment, Teto slammed both hands on the coffee table while standing up, having eyes which displayed determination. Then, her legs began to move and she was sprinting out of the café, when her hands pushed the door opened, the bells which were hung on the door knob jingled. The pigtail haired female grinned. She knew that she would not be satisfied if things were left like they were now. As she ran in the direction which they took, she gradually caught sight of them. Instantly, Teto felt as though she was not alone anymore.

* * *

(A meadow near Shirotora Clan, 5:12 p.m.)

'Ngh...I don't see her anywhere.' Rin mumbled to herself, searching here and there. They noticed Kiku entered the woods beside Shirotora Clan, however, when they arrived, the crimson haired female was already gone. After searching for some time, Len spoke.

'We should probably leave her alone for now,' he suggested.

'But at this rate, ...' Mikuo responded, not completing his statement. He remembered that Kiku told him she decided to accompany him to travel to the other parallel world. To him, that was some kind of a promise he had with one of his friends. There was a moment of silence as everyone were deep in thoughts, having troubled expressions.

'Continue searching for her,' Instantly, there was a familiar female voice speaking behind them. 'There is nothing wrong with that.' When they turned behind, a pigtail haired female was smiling.

'Teto!' They exclaimed, not expecting her to be around.

'Hehe.' She waved once while winking an eye. 'You don't mind right?' She inquired sheepishly. Widening his eyes, Mikuo caught what she meant.

'Of course we would not mind.' He had that usual laid back smile. The twins shook their head while swaying their tails, indicating that they did not mind too.

'Because the more the merrier!' Teto concluded in a cheerful tone.

'Just to inform,' Len stated.

'We are planning to go to the parallel world told by Sylvette.' Rin added. The pigtail haired female gestured ''okay'' by showing a ''three'' on her fingers. The mood instantly enlightened as they continued their search for Kiku.

_Heh~ this is going to be fascinating. _The azure blue haired male thought, gazing up at the sky. Before he realised it, he was already surrounded by friends.

(A woods near Shirotora Clan, 5:12 p.m.)

Meanwhile, a certain crimson haired female decided to be alone as she needed time to reassure herself about the past although she felt kind of guilty for reacting arrogantly in front of them. Unfortunately, she was still haunted by her past.

'Kh! Why can't I just forget about it already? I couldn't simply just tell them. They would most probably get involved with it.' Her stern eyes saddened a little at that thought. She knew that this inevitable problem was going to surface up sooner or later, however, she did not want the others to wind into such complicated situation that she had been burdened on for several years. She would definitely regret it if they were hurt because of her, a kind of feeling that she refused to express in front of them. Feeling a mixture of unease and irritation, she shaked her head thoroughly to shove away the thoughts that she loathed the most.

Gradually, she walked out of the woods and discovered herself on a grassless cliff. There was a wooden bridge at the edge of the cliff which was attached to the middle part of a hill - the height was around fifty metres high. Realising that crossing the bridge is the only way to reach to the other side, Kiku walked across it. While doing so, the fragile bridged swayed from side to side unstably.

When she reached towards the end of the bridge, her eyes was enraptured by a garden of roses which filled up a field. A gust of light wind breezed across the garden, causing the petals to sweep across her face.

Although it was still broad daylight, in this garden, there seemed to be darkness looming around every corner of the field, casting a shadow on it. Despite that, the crimson haired female proceeded to walk deeper into the garden, ignoring the thorns that were scratching her legs. The roses of the garden were all red. Blood red. Somehow, the smell of these roses were not fragrant...they smelt like blood. The more deeper she walked, the stronger the smell of the blood. She was unable to distinguish whether this was an illusion her mind created or it was reality, however, that did not matter as she could not care less. The petals of the flowers were nostalgic enough for Kiku to remember the incident seven years ago...

* * *

Seven years ago

(Evening, 8 p.m.)

'Mother,' a childish female voice spoke, 'why does everyone keep avoiding us? They said something about sin. What is sin?' A braided crimson haired girl inquired, showing a questioning look.

'My dear Kiku chan, it's not something that you should know now.' Another gentle voice replied, she stroked the young girl's forehead lightly. Hearing this, Kiku glanced towards the other direction with disappointment. Her mother would always reply the same answer everytime she asked, and she loathed being treated that way.

'Oh that's right,' the braided girl recalled something, 'I also heard them talked about the execution taking place tonight. What's an execution? One of those festive events?' She inquired.

'Ah...that's...' Her mother was astounded that she knew this fact - she did not want her daughter to know any of this. Tilting her head lower, Kiku's mother gradually opened her mouth and spoke seriously.

'Listen carefully Kiku, you are not allowed to go to the execution venue tonight.' Her eyes held a hint of sternness which was rare, '...don't ask me why.' She felt that it was appropriate to add that.

There was a slight sadness in her tone which made Kiku blinked in confusion. _Why is she sad? Did I mentioned anything wrong? _She wondered, thinking it was best to apologise. Just when she opened her lips, someone barged into their house by smashing the door.

'!' Turning their heads around, they noticed a Kitsune clansman dressed in army uniform standing by the entranceway. The young braided girl immediately glared at him for his intrusion, her fox ears twitched slightly. Ignoring her, the soldier gestured for Kiku's mother to follow him. She obeyed the order.

'Wait, where are you going?' Kiku had a stunned and confused expression as she was unable to figure out why her mother was leaving with someone unrelated to them. To her, that soldier was bad and all bad person should just rot in the prison.

'My dear Kiku chan, remember not to go to the venue.' That was the last time she heard her mother speak to her. With such gentle tone.

After her mother were led out of the house, she started to have an awful feeling welling within her. Instantly, she felt a sudden urge that she had never felt before - stop the execution or whatever ''festive events'' it was. However, she was afraid to disobey her mother's instructions, especially when she had one of those stern eyes.

Soon, there was a ''war'' within her as she tried to make up her mind whether to go to the execution venue or be a good girl. After several minutes, it seemed that all those complicated feelings made the braided girl at her limit as she hated stuff like these. It has been a while since she disobeyed her mother but those were different from this. She decided to trust her intuition, wanting to discover why her inner soul refused to settle down.

Once she stepped out of the house, darkness could be sensed lurking around the atmosphere. She initially strolled on the path but her speed gradually surged to fast-walking which then changed to running and finally an all-out sprint. Even though Kiku knew that the execution would be held at the parade square, it was her first time going to a place where she had never been to, thus she decided to search everywhere. There was only a simple clue that she had - if there was a crowd gathering at a place, that would be the one.

It was not long before she noticed smokes forming above a woodland. T_hat might be it. _Kiku thought, travelling towards it. When approaching near the haze, she realised a huge crowd gathering at a circular platform, mumbling among themselves. When she looked closely, the platform was actually made of stone and decorated with sculptures and cravings. The smoke that Kiku noticed earlier was caused by a firewood near the platform which brightened the area. The haze thickens with every second, causing problems for breathing. Despite that, the crowd continued to gather as though they were watching something fascinating and thrilling. Their facial expressions showed ecstatic and jubilation. Out of curiosity, Kiku stared at the platform. There were chains attached to the sides of the sculptures, interlocking each other and firmly holding onto..onto...someone.

Due to the thick haze, she could only see a black figure being chained. She took a few steps closer and squinted her eyes. The next moment, Kiku almost felt her hearbeat stopped as she widened her eyes. Her mother was chained onto a Christ wood, the firewood under her indicated that she was about to be burned to death. Without hesitation, the braided girl dashed across.

'Hey, who are you? Get back to the zone now!' A soldier shouted in a deep voice while chasing Kiku. 'Young children like you shouldn't even be here!' He added. Instead of slowing down, she sprinted even faster. She knew that if she halted even for a moment, she would be caught. Unfortunately, due to her short legs, the man caught up and stopped her by summoning Pure Flames directly in front of her. A few of the guards joined him and pointed their spears, threatening Kiku. This had caused a commotion among the crowds as they stared at this young braided girl.

Gritting her teeth while narrowing her eyes, Kiku felt as though she wanted to skin everyone alive on the spot. _How dare they harm my mother! Those heartless people even smiled when they saw my mother suffering!...Unforgivable..._Time was running out while she was trapped with spears around her. Without warning, Kiku quickly dodged the spears by going under them and crunched one of the guards' neck.

'Tch! She is a violent one.' A guard commented, raising his spear to prepare for an attack. She easily dodged it when he sent the sharp object towards her. Just when she was about to get pass those guards, blood scent filled the air, followed by a faint cough. Turning her head around, she hoped it was not what she was thinking. However, she realised that her mother was poisoned and was slowly being burned to death. That scene totally overwhelmed her young soul as she watched her mother suffered. She did not even scream or cry, having that usual gentle face. Somehow, Kiku felt as though her mother was smiling at her. She remained hanging at the Christ wood, motionless.

Realising that the execution had ended, the guards retreated their spears and went back to their guarding positions, waiting for their instructions from their commander. The crowd had also went back. Kiku was standing at that same spot all this while, head facing the ground with unconscious empty eyes.

In an instant, she lifted her head and glared at the guards with extreme deadly eyes. _All of them are bad people, and all bad people should just ROT IN THE PRISON!_ Due to her unacceptance to her mother's death, her inner soul had reacted.

Part of her blamed the guards but the other part of her blamed on her incapability to stop the event. A glimpse of Pure Flame flashed in her eyes as she approached one of the guards. The closer she was, the brighter the flames. Her eyes showed no sign of mercy.

Within the next second, a crimson magic circle was created on the ground where everyone were standing and soon, all the guards and soldiers were engulfed by deadly Pure Flames in the shape of a fox which ''devoured'' them.

'W-What?! She could use Pure Flames at such a young age?' One of the soldiers was astounded. The crowd had already returned back so none was aware of this. Screaming in pain, the guards and soldiers struggled to survive, but failed to. The braided girl stood still, unaffected by her Pure Flames. When her empty eyes gradually returned back to normal, she gained back her consciousness and realised that she was surrounded by flames and corpses.

Memories of what had happened filled her mind.

_I-I killed them?_ Her innocent eyes widened._ Impossible, I still can't activate my Pure Flames yet..._ Shewas utterly confused as she stared at the corpses who had fear written all over their faces. Her Pure Flames gradually disappeared and the haze lightened.

Kiku immediately walked out of the parade square, aimlessly sauntering at a random direction. So long as she was not near Kitsune Clan, she was satisfied.

_What exactly was my mother's sin?_

That night, red petals fell from the sky. They smelled like blood.

(End of her past)

* * *

Ayano: Yonde kurete arigatou. Otanoshimini.


	5. Chapter 5

7 Pendants

(Rose garden in a hill, 5:15 p.m.)

The longer she stayed at the rose garden, the more unease she felt, thus the crimson haired female decided to leave.

_ Baka Ookami and the others might already reached near Hoshikawa Lake-_

'!' Her thoughts were interrupted by a leaves rustle. Pricking her fox ears, she could sensed that the sound came from a certain bush. She increased her alertness and casted a quick glance around the area. Initially, she thought it was a Deadless, but after detecting the familiar footsteps, her eyes widened in disbelief. She narrowed her eyes and cautiously took a few steps back.

'I didn't expect you to remember me, Kiku.' A deep male voice spoke. 'Or should I say...Daughter of the Sinner,' A Kitsune clansman dressed in army uniform made his appearance and continued his speech.

'You still remembered that night, don't you? We named it Night of Flames-'

'As if I would care about a name.' She told in an uninterested tone. The soldier ignored that statement.

'As you can see, I'm the only survivor of that night. Ever since that unfortunate event, we had been chasing you.' He stated, 'for your life.'

'...I know...' Kiku replied in a dark tone.

'But meeting you in this place...how unexpected. This scar that you gave me with your Pure Flames... I'm itching to kill you. Then I would present your body to Master as gift.' At his last word, he instantly flamed his hands and charged towards the target, preparing for a punch. Dodging his attack easily, she hanged a serious expression and asked him a question.

'That sin...what kind of sin did my mother made?'

'Oh, you didn't know?' He took a few steps back, still hanging a stern expression. 'She disobeyed Master by marrying another person despite being his woman. And she even had you. Thus Master ordered us to eradicate her.'

'Tch,' Kiku had dagger-looking eyes, 'that is not even a sin! That Master you keep calling is just a basta-'

'You have no right to talk back!' He interrupted. 'Master's order is absolute, anyone who dare to defy shall be eliminated!' The soldier snapped. The crimson haired female clenched her fist in extreme frustration. That reason was unacceptable, there was no way she was going to let it go. Her ruby eyes instantly flashed with Pure Flames as she created a crimson magic circle on her palm.

* * *

(A woods near Shirotora Clan which Kiku initially entered, 5:15 p.m.)

'This region is so thick.' The yellow haired female commented, having a quick glance around.

'I have been here countless times,' the pigtail haired female told, 'at the other end of this forest will be a cliff attached to a wooden bridge.'

'She might be there.' Len assumed, thinking that it was possible. The azure blue haired male thought for a while before speaking.

'Once we cross the bridge, what will there be?' He inquired. Instantly, Teto's eyes gleamed with delight.

'A rose garden.' She grinned, her cheerful expression gradually saddened. 'However...'

'However?' Everyone tilted their heads in curiosity.

'The roses have blood scent instead of fragrance.' She replied. When she noticed their questioning looks, she added, 'I don't know why either, hehe.'

When everyone continued walking in silence, Teto hanged a serious expression while in deep thoughts. R_ose garden...it will lead us to somewhere else...what was it again?_

Without warning, they heard an explosion which disturbed the peace, followed by Pure flames flaring its way up to the sky for a short while. Another Pure Flame countered against it, the two attacks clashed with each other which caused a gust of wind to instantly swept across the area.

'...' Everyone narrowed their eyes, intuition told them that something unpleasant had occurred. They need not confirm with one another about the situation as they already knew. Immediately, they hastened their pace towards the wooden bridge with Teto at the lead.

(5:17 p.m.)

FIFTY METRES. A sign was pinned beside the bridge.

When they finally got out of the woods, the determined and serious aura around them vanished as Rin was astounded by how high the bridge was from the ground. As though playing along with the mood, a breeze waltzed passed briskly, causing the bridge to sway from side to side. This made her even more anxious.  
_  
I think I have been to many high places recently, _the yellow haired female had a troubled expression, forcing herself not to peer down the cliff.

'Rin, what's wrong?' Mikuo inquired with concern, 'your face is pale.'

Len decided to speak. 'You see, she is afraid of h-'

'Ahahaha...' Rin forced a laugh, 'no worries, it's nothing.'

'...' The azure blue haired male seemed to understand what Len meant but decided to play along with the mood. Tilting his head, he displayed a questioning look before proceeding to cross the bridge. After Mikuo and Teto started crossing it, Rin turned to Len and had an expression of Don't-tell-them!.

He avoided her gaze, hiding a teasing expression.

It was not long when Kiku heard footsteps approaching. Based on the way they clattered, it seems to be coming from the wooden bridge. She diverted her attention to the bridge, hoping it was not what her instinct told her. The crimson haired female immediately felt relieved when she realised that no one was there. However, the clattering made her felt uneasy.  
_  
You better don't come. _She referred to the four of them, not wanting to involve them. Although she did not express it, Kiku did not want them to get hurt because of her.

'!' Without warning, she felt heat around her neck.

'Turning your back against me...you've underestimated me, Daughter of the Sinner.'

'Kh!' Kiku leapt up to the air and managed to dodge one of his killer moves. Her swiftness aided her in changing the direction of landing, allowing her to have an opportunity to attack. Forming several small crimson magic circles around her, she allowed the circles to gather and absorb oxygen energy from the surroundings, enabling the circles to charge and increase its power intensity. Instantly, Pure Flames shot out of the magic circles, firing at the target from all directions. The soldier countered it by sending a wide range swipe, the two attacks clashed with each other, causing another explosion and a gust of wind. However, the swipe was unable to defend him from all the Pure Flame shots and the soldier was injured by them.

The wooden bridge was swaying from left to right due to a sudden wind blowing passed which made it hard for Mikuo and the others to walk. Rin felt as though she was experiencing hell, her cat ears twitched whenever the bridge swayed unstably. Although she appeared calm on the outside, she was trembling on the inside. Len was the only one who noticed this.

'We are reaching to the other side soon.' He told, grabbing her hand to assure her that she was safe. His action caused Rin's anxiety to perish as they continued to walk across hand-in-hand while Mikuo and Teto was in front.  
_  
The scent of blood...the rose garden is just up ahead. _Mikuo thought. Upon reaching the rose garden, they noticed a certain crimson haired female glaring at someone else who is dressed in army uniform. As expected, she was fighting with a Kitsune clansman.

'...Ki...ku?' Mikuo mumbled, it was his first time noticing her this frustrated. Although the twins were concerned about the circumstance in front of them, they knew that Kiku would not want anyone to interfere and they respected that while Teto watched the immense battle, cheering for Kiku silently with serious eyes.

Mikuo's voice startled the crimson haired female as her fox ears pricked slightly. After noticing their presence, Kiku felt pressured, quickening her finishing blow. Leaping into the air to have a better aerial view of her opponent, she summoned Pure Flames on both palms and increased its energy level. With a swift swiping movement of her hands, she released a long range attack which gushed across the whole rose garden, burning everything into ashes. Subsequently, smokes were produced which blocked everyone's vision, thus Kiku was unsure whether the soldier was damaged by it.

Gradually, the smokes cleared up. However, he was nowhere to be seen.

_ Tch! _Narrowing her eyes, Kiku wondered how he escaped from such an attack. Instinct told her that he was hiding among the dense tree branches.

'Hm! Due to your distraction of your friends, you caused a flaw in the blow.' A deep voice spoke in a humiliation tone, 'never thought that someone like you had a soft side for your friends,' His voice echoed through the air. On his last word, the soldier swooped down from a tree branch towards his opponent, charging Pure Flames on his right hand. Hearing a rustle from behind, Kiku turned around and prepared to swerve to one side in order to dodge his attack.

'!' That was when she realised she was unable to move. Initially, there were smokes which blocked everyone's view, the soldier used the opportunity to inflict a spell on her to restrict her movements before the smokes faded.

'Your foolish feelings for your friends caused your death.' He raised his right hand which was charged with Pure Flames, imagining the sensation where he would finally crush her into nothingness. Realising that she had no opportunity for escape, Kiku shut her eyes tightly and mentally prepared for the attack.

After holding onto her breath for several seconds, she wondered why there was no pain yet, thus she opened her eyelids slowly.

'!' The crimson haired female widened her eyes in disbelief.

'Baka...Ookami.' She mumbled, stunned by the sight in front of her. The twins and pigtail haired female were equally stunned. Mikuo stopped the soldier's fist with one hand, displaying eyes full of murderous intent. The aura that surrounded him was purely dangerous which terrified the soldier, but he refused to show it..

'Eat back your filthy words.' He demanded, the soldier's words annoyed him to the very core. 'Feelings for friends caused death? What right do you have to say that?' Instantly, his eyes flashed with Dark Flames as he was about to unleashed his Dark Flames which was urging to burst out. However, he controlled them as he knew that Kiku disliked ''outsiders'' to interfere on her fight. 'I don't care who you are, but if you dare to hurt one of my friends,' his eyes glistened threateningly, 'you shall taste my flame.'

'Mikuo...' Kiku made a bitter smile. Almost instantly, her eyes widened as she realised something. Something that was blinded from her due to her doubt - she was worth existing.

_I see... I have been doubting my existence all along, no wonder my Pure Flames kept wavering weakly...heh! Can't believe I have been so foolish. _Kiku thought, lifting her head, eyes filled with determination.

As though in sync, Mikuo sensed that Kiku had understood something and had reverted back to her usual composed self. Not wanting to meddle with her situation any longer, the azure blue haired male retreated after exchanging glances with Kiku. The next moment, she diverted her sight back to her opponent, having eyes full of resolve.

'Now...shall we have a real battle?' She inquired in an icy whisperous manner that sent shivers to the soldier.

_She is different from before. _Noticing the change in her behavior and aura, his intuition told him not to underestimate her again. Despite all these, he remained his composure and exclaimed, 'no matter how confident you are, it won't change the fact that you are the Daughter of a Sinner,' he charged his legs with Pure Flames and sprinted forward, his speed caused the roses on his track to be burnt and they eventually withered.

Clenching his fist, the soldier forcefully sent an uppercut to his target that was in front of him, only to realise that he was punching the air. He let out a gasp, trying to figure out when she had vanished from his sight. Without warning, a crimson figure brushed pased to his left, causing him to prick his ears to detect the source of the sound. It was not long before she brushed passed again to his right, whispering something to his ears.

'I won't allow death to struck me just yet.' Kiku lighted the corners around him with Pure Flames. Although they were small in size, the energy that they emit was blazing with life, showing her determination. The small balls of Pure Flames then burst their way upwards, trapping him on the centre. They fused together in a spiral motion before aiming at the centre, at the target. Realising that he was at a pinch, the soldier searched for an opening but to no avail.

'It's futile,' The crimson haired female told while controlling the flames mentally, The soldier felt pressured as he knew that getting hit by the attack was the only option...gradually, he resigned to fate while shutting his eyes.

'!' When her Pure Flames engulfed him, he was astonished as his eyes widened. Although he was severely burnt by the merciless flames, there was something else merged within it.

_This flame...how could it be? How could it be so warm? _He thought, staring at the ''Daughter of the Sinner''.

'...I am myself. No one could ever change that,' Kiku spoke, glaring back at him. 'You insulted my existence and interfered with my resolve to live...until a few moments ago.' She turned her back against him without letting her guard down, returning to her friends.

She had to admit. The four figures standing in front of her are her friends and she was grateful to them. However, being Kiku, she would NEVER expressed her feelings directly. Not physically. Not verbally. She would do it her own way.

Probably.

* * *

Ayano: Arigatou to otanoshimini.


	6. Chapter 6

7 Pendants

(5:37 p.m.)

Everyone were walking deeper into the rose garden. Behind them was Mikuo, deep in thoughts. His dark personality had emerged a few moments ago before he even realised it, and it was the first time his friends noticed that side of him. Somehow, he felt unease which he could not pinpoint the reason. Probably he did not want them to notice his dark side yet.

Teto's eyes gleamed, 'you were so cool back there.' She gave him a thumbs-up. Her sudden statement was unexpected, causing him to stare at her for awhile as though time had frozen.

'I-It was nothing.' He stuttered, peering at the other direction and flushed slightly, unsure of what to react.

'...' Len and Rin Kiku could not believe that the person who said that ''epic statement'' towards the soldier was actually him. It was as though they were two different person.

However, Mikuo was more concerned about something. _Did that soldier die? Had Kiku really murdered him? _Shaking his head thoroughly, he tried to push the thoughts away as he knew that they were not important now. The yellow haired female seemed to notice the somewhat gloomy atmosphere hanging around Mikuo which made her concern.

'What's wrong? You seemed unsettled,' Rin inquired, tilting her head.

'No, it's nothing.' He replied briefly, responding with a smile. The crimson haired female twitched her ears and sighed. _It's really unbelievable that he was that person full of murderous intent...he is still as soft as ever. _

'Don't make me laugh. Why would I dirty my hands for that old soldier? My Pure Flames are not meant to kill, Baka Ookami...he just won't be able to fight for the rest of his life.' She hanged a devilish expression.

Mikuo was taken aback, not expecting her to know what he was thinking. Still, he was kind of relieved that the soldier was alive.

'Arigatou, Mikuo.' She whispered as soft as possible, having a faint smile.

SLASH.

Immediately after that, she felt like hitting him due to the sudden mushy atmosphere which made her embarrassed.

The azure blue haired male sweatdropped. _She is so hard to understand. _However, it was Kiku's first time calling him by his name which made him extremely elated.

* * *

'Actually,' Len started speaking after a long silence, 'I figured out that we are already travelling towards Hoshikawa Lake.'

There was another silence.

'Eh?!' Mikuo, Rin and Teto was stunned, having questioning looks.

'...' Kiku had an astounded expression. Just when Len was about to explain, the pigtail haired female recalled something.

'That's right, if we continue to walk deeper into the rose garden, we will reach the peak of the hill where Hoshikawa Lake is located.' Trusting that the information was correct, she had eyes which displayed confidence.

The azure blue haired male had a carefree grin. 'Then, let's continue.' he commented in his usual laid back tone, proceeding forward. With that, everyone continued their journey in silence again.

When they were about to reach their final destination, the single path divided into three routes.

'Hmm...' the yellow haired male stared at the different paths.

'Ngk...what should we do?' Rin had a troubled expression, 'split up?'

'Eh?' Although Teto disliked that suggestion, she did not say anything.

'That might not be a good idea, who knows when we will meet up again after separation.' Len turned and replied.

'We are going this way.' The crimson haired female pointed to the left, her tone was almost like an order. She hated situations that are time consuming. Almost immediately, Mikuo felt his body stiffened while his intuition told him that that route is definitely wrong. Subsequently, he remembered the time where he and Kiku got lost in a huge cave at the Neko Clan, and the other time where everyone got trapped at a mountain base (I did not mention about this). Those consequences were because of her self-decisiveness.

'It's not that I'm insulting your bad sense of direction, just that whenever you choose a route, we ended up in a change of event.' Mikuo stated in a matter-of-fact tone which caused her fox ears to twitched.  
_  
Taboo. _Teto thought, hiding a teasing expression.

_You are too straight-forward. _The twins thought while sweatdropping, diverting their attention to Kiku, who was now flashing death glare at him. She was surrounded with Pure Flames which indicated her irritation. To her, that was humiliation. Knowing that Mikuo was at a pinch, Len instantly spoke.

'This should be the correct path,' he pointed to the right.

'Hn!' Rin agreed, 'this path seemed to lead us to the hill peak.' She swayed her white tail.

'Ohh...let's go then!' Teto grinned, punching her fist up to the air. Subsequently, Kiku simmered down slightly, deciding to proceed to the route which Len chose so that time was not wasted.

_Yandere... sure is scary..._Mikuo thought, showing an expression of thanks-for-saving-me to Len who then responded with an expression of that-was-nothing.

.

.

.

.

(9:55 p.m., Hoshikawa Lake)

Faint light from the moon shone onto the lake, displaying its picturesque beauty. Everyone found themselves in a place that they would never had imagined. Silvery stone pillars were lined up beside the lake, having sculptures of swans as they poured water from their mouths. There were also several rocks placed on the lake which were large enough to be stepped on, leading its way to the centre of the lake. The hill peak was full of flowers which contributed to the glorious landscape.

'Amazing! I can spot almost all of the Clans and landforms from here! The sea is so gorgeous!' Teto's eyes sparkled with enthusiasm, having a bird's eye view from the hill peak.

'We came all the way from Shirotora Clan? Now that I look at it, it's way further than I thought.' The azure blue haired male had a relaxed expression as he enjoyed the cool breeze silently. Watching Excalique World from the top was just too spectacular.

'Len, Rin. You should see too!' The pigtail haired female thrilled.

'Ah, it's okay.' Rin forced a smile. 'I'm fine over here. Ahahaha...' Her reaction made Mikuo remembered that she was afraid of hei-

'My, my...today is one of the rare days that I have visitors,' A sweet voice echoed in the air which startled them. However, they spotted no one other than themselves.

'Sorry to say, but...you cannot see me as someone sealed me away.' She told as though she did not care about that.

'!' They blinked once, not expecting that she was sealed. Somehow, they knew that this female was Sylvette. Noticing their questioning looks, she spoke again.

'...Now is not the time for me to tell about my circumstances. I don't feel like telling anything now.' She mumbled softly to herself on that last sentence so that they could not hear it. 'So tell me, why did you come here for?' She referred to them. The azure blue haired male decided to be straight-forward.

'That second rumour about the seven pendants in another parallel world,' Mikuo had a serious tone, 'you were telling the truth...right?' He wanted to confirm. Hearing a short giggle, they sensed a slight smirk.

'Who knows...' She answered in a mysterious tone, 'you will figure that out once you reached the parallel world.'

'Erm, how do we travel to that world?' Teto inquired innocently, having a questioning look.

'About that, I will transfer you over there by creating a portal now.' She stated, 'no worries.'

'Eh?' Rin was surprised that the situation was decided so quickly. 'N-Now?' She had not prepared herself yet. Len seemed to be fine with the sudden changes, having a neutral expression.

'Then let's go!' The pigtail haired female exclaimed, as cheerful as ever.

_Hmm...what is a portal? _Mikuo wondered, but soon, his serious expression changed into a carefree one. _Whatever, we are going to that parallel world anyway._

The crimson haired female was glad that they would soon be transferred to that parallel world, it meant that she would be further away from Hoshikawa Lake, further away from this female called Sylvette. Something about this female annoyed her.

When she told them that she was creating a portal now, Mikuo did not see any changes on his surroundings - no bright light, no magic circle, nothing out of the ordinary occurred.

'All you have to do is to close your eyes for ten seconds while I create this portal for you. As simple as that.'

Shutting his eyes, the azure blue haired male imaged himself being transported by this ''portal'', he wondered what kind of stuff exists in that parallel world, what kind of people he would meet... although too many things had happened recently, his laid back character allowed him not to think too much about them.

_Nothing changes even if I worry anyway. _He thought. In truth, deep within him, he was suspicious about the second rumour which Sylvette told, hesitating to believe it. However, trusting it was the only option for him if he wanted to have a wish granted - obtaining back the peaceful life he and his friends once had. But still, ironically, he was grateful. Due to the Devoured Night, he was able to meet Kiku, Rin, Len and Teto.

* * *

(Day time)

Almost instantly, his intuition told him that they had arrived to the parallel world, thus he opened his eyes cautiously. His eyes immediately widened.

'Ah,' The twins gasped slightly when they realised that everyone's clothing changed - they were wearing exquisite uniform as though they belonged to some high-ranked and glorious academy, the only difference was that the females were wearing skirt while the males wore pants. Rin was even more astonished to discover that her cat ears and tail vanished.

'My tail...I miss my tail...' Teto whined, along with waterfall tears.

Lifting up his head, Mikuo examined the new environment and noticed a fountain right next to them. When his view stretched further towards a nearby city, there were lots of unknown objects appearing one after another which caused question marks to float above his head. On the streets, humans were holding onto small devices towards their ears and seemed to be talking non-stop. To him, they were not speaking to anyone, just simply speaking to those small devices that they held towards their ears. There were also strange objects with four wheels speeding across a road.

'!' The crimson haired female realised that an object with four wheels were approaching them at full speed.

The new environment caused her to be more sensitive to the surroundings, so when a car suddenly charged at them for no apparent reason, she got alarmed. Fusing Pure Flames in mid air, she created several small piercers that were ready to strike at it anytime. Mikuo realised what she was doing and instantly stopped her.

'Inside that strange object are humans like us, you might hurt them.' He explained.

'Those humans probably got manipulated by it.' Kiku told, eyes still fixing on the vehicle. Fortunately, that ''strange object'' changed course and managed to avoid being blasted away by Pure Flames.

'I think,' the yellow haired male spoke, 'it would be better if we had a better understanding of this town.' He suggested since this parallel world was out of their life experience. Rin nodded in agreement.

'First,' Teto had a determined expression, 'let's start by asking that lady ahead!' She exclaimed, pointing to a housewife who had walked passed a confectionery with her child.

'Yosh, I shall try.' Mikuo volunteered, briskly walking towards them. As he approached, he noticed that the city was more lively than he thought. Different coloured lightings were decorated on some of the stores, bakery shops were making freshly made cakes and tarts which produced a pleasant fragrance in the air, as well as the warm greetings from the waiters and waitresses in restaurants which contributed to the vibrant atmosphere.

_I might get used to this, _the azure blue haired male thought, displaying a carefree smile. He was starting to like this city.

'Mummy,' the child tugged onto his mother's shirt to get her attention, 'today I learned something new and intriguing from my teacher.' His tone was childish and innocent. 'Bad luck would stumble upon us if we meet a wolf, is that true?' He inquired, having a questioning look. Mikuo instantly froze, too stunned to hear those words as though a sharp knife had pierced right through him. The feelings of contentment immediately changed to depression as he isolated himself in a corner.

'I take back my words...' He sulked, 'this is the most heartless place.' Whirls of depression surrounded him.

'Well, there are weird rumours in this world too.' Teto commented, having a grin which indicated him not to be affected by the child's words.

'...' Rin detected a distracting stare from someone around the corner, feeling unease about it. She nudged Len to notify him, however, he seemed to has already felt it and was staring at a particular direction where he suspected the stare was from. Subsequently, a certain tall man was strolling towards them, smiling as though he had known them for years. He wore a black and white suit with a coattail, black pants and a hat. Narrowing her eyes, Kiku disliked the fact that a mere human like him was heading straight towards them.

'Do you have a matter with us?' Before the man realised it, a certain azure blue haired male was standing right next to him, smiling at him. Although Mikuo appeared to have his usual smiling face, his eyes held a hint of seriousness, something which the man was able to sense.

'Nothing to worry,' he forced a laugh, 'I am here to lead all of you to Shirokuro Academy.' He said, having a tone of pride when he mentioned the place.

'Your uniform shows it all.' Turning around, the man gestured them to follow.

'Heh! What a weird name this person has, I will burn him or her to shreds.'

'?' Mikuo had a questioning look.

'Hehehe...the name sounds like food to me.' Teto commented.

'You got it wrong,' Rin told, sweatdropping.

'It is a school.' Len completed.

'I see...' Mikuo had a neutral expression which suddenly changed. 'Eh?! what?'

'Fine then, I shall burn that building.'  
_  
_With that, everyone followed this man to Shirokuro Academy (Kiku was still suspicious about him). Clasping both hands behind his head, the azure blue haired male gazed at the cloudless sky. _My life has kind of...turned upside down...whatever, no choice about it. _He grinned.

* * *

Ayano: Is it too sudden for them to be transferred to the human world? Tonikaku, arigatou to otanoshimi.


	7. Chapter 7

7 Pendants

(Shirokuro Academy, 11:11 a.m.)

Mikuo was awe-struck by the glorious building that stood before them. Not only was it huge, the silver linings were well polished, the walls and windows had been carved a wavy pattern that stood out under the sun, and at the centre was a clock tower. Ornamental plants were lined up beside the pathway. Generally, the academy gave an impression that only the talented or rich students would get their education in.

'Why would we be enrolled to this academy?' Len inquired, getting suspicious of the man's intentions. He thought for awhile before answering.

'I have no idea, last night I received a letter that informed about your enrollment. Fees had been paid too.' Then he realised that he had not introduced himself yet, 'oh, and I am the principal of this academy, my name is Tsubasa.' He took off his hat and told them that other students were having lessons already so they would start the next day.

Walking along the grand entrance, Tsubasa told them to take an elevator up to the fifth floor for their enrollment examination.

'It is to determine your education standard.' He stated while trailing off in another particular direction.

* * *

(Basement of the clock tower)

Standing by the side of a pillar, Rin examined that stubborn silver-plated door that refused to open.

'This should be the ''elevator'' that Tsubasa san said,' She claimed, 'I saw one earlier at the district.'

'As expected, we should just burn this door and enter.' Kiku suggested.

'Hmm...' Teto stared at a button with suspicious eyes. With curiosity, she pressed it. Instantly, a short sonorous tune rang and the silver-plated door slid open.

'Ooh!' Her eyes sparkled. With that, everyone entered the elevator.

(After fifteen minutes)

The azure blue haired and yellow haired males swore not to ride a lift ever again. After all the ruckus, they finally reached fifth floor and got out of the lift.

'I told you not to push all the buttons at once,' the yellow haired female panicked, 'now this elevator is like this.' She stared at the out-of-shape and burnt elevator.

'But I did not burn it,' the pigtail haired female protested, 'just randomly pressing the buttons.' she thought pressing all the buttons at once would allow them to reach fifth floor faster.

'Destroying it is the best solution.' The crimson haired female was not guilty at all for blasting the lift. 'This troublesome thing had been ridiculously moving up and down for the sixth time.' Apparently, her patience ran out while she was riding ''the troublesome thing'', thus she decided to flare the whole object. Coincidentally, they had reached the fifth floor when Kiku blasted the door open.

Peering at that out-of-shape elevator, Len facepalmed, wondering how they would explain all that to the principal. They had not even been in this academy for one hour and now they had created problems. After the ruckus, Mikuo soon found himself stepping upon a narrow hallway. The floor was made of marble with a queer-looking design, and small lamps were hung by the walls as they emit dim light. Ignoring the deformed crisp elevator that was producing smoke, they began to search for a room meant for examination purpose.

Strangely, the long stretch of hallway only had a door protruding out of its wall, wide open.

'...' While treading along, Len detected the presence of someone other than themselves, lurking by the corners in stealth. The others had noticed it too because their movements were more cautious and wary, keeping a look out from the corner of their eyes. No one mentioned about it though, as they entered the room.

Meanwhile, at the elevator, a pink haired female stood beside it, having a serious expression. She wore the same school uniform, having a red tag with the school crest pinned onto the upper part of her left sleeve. Shuffling her hair over her shoulder, she inspected the worn-out elevator while narrowing her eyes. Initially, she was at the basement of the clock tower, when she smelled smokes, she decided to check on the problem.

'Patrolling duties are troublesome at times.' She mumbled to herself, crossing her arms. The pink haired female was definitely displeased about a damaged school property. Lessons were still being conducted and all students (except her) ought to be in the classroom.

'!' She instantly remembered that five students were enrolled to Shirokuro Academy today.

_ Could it be... _A light breeze drifted in the air, making her waist-length pink hair to sway in the wind.

Inside the examination room, Teto stared at a thick paper with boredom, sprawling her hands over the table while lazing on it.

Question marks were all over his head as Mikuo peered at the endless questions, answering them with whatever comes to his mind.

Surprisingly, Kiku was concentrating on the test. At first, she thought that the test which Tsubasa mentioned was a test of strength and strategy or anything in between. Realising that it was Mathematics, she was slightly disappointed. Every time she completed a question, Kiku broke a menacing grin and continued.

Rin sat uncomfortably with her soul coming out from her mouth. For the past half an hour, she did not attempt any of the question, forcing herself not to peer to the left. Why? Because an enormouse window with silver frame was beside her, luring her to look out at the beautiful scenery. No, not beautiful scenery, she felt as though the window was telling her how high she was.

'Why must I be assigned here?' Rin protested silently, praying hard for the time to travel faster so that she could be further away from the ''evil window''. Ninety minutes more to go.

Shifting the paper upward, Len moved on to the next question with ease. Half of him was surprised to discover that he could do most of it without difficulty, the other half was cheering Rin on to persevere. They were at the fifth floor afterall, and it might be too high for her.

A high pitch ring from the timer indicated that the examination was over. Rin was the first to rushed out of the room after handing the script to the invigilator, letting out a sigh of relief. After receiving all their script, the stern female invigilator proceeded towards an office.

Closing the door behind them and making their way out, the unpleasant aura of being stalked returned immediately. However, no one mentioned about it as they continued to stroll along the narrow hallway. With the help of their intuition, they roughly knew the purpose of that mysterious person who had been stalking them. Furthermore, he or she was not human, they suspected this ''person'' to be an animal.

'Ah,' The yellow haired female broke the silence, 'Tsubasa san did not say anything else about what we should do after the examination.' She informed.

'How about we explore the school?' Teto suggested, eyes gleaming with anticipation. Mikuo was about to agree until he saw a student around their age, leaning against a wall while looking straight at them with her arms folded.

'...I have not seen your faces in this academy before, so you must be the new transferred students.' She pointed to the elevator and inquired,' I assumed this was destroyed by you?' Despite her face full of smiles, Mikuo knew frustration was disguised under it.

'If you are refering to that, I was the one who burnt it.' Kiku said in a tone of defiance, facial expression asking what she wanted.

_More like blasting it. _The twins thought at the exact moment while sweatdropping.

_She's basically making an enemy out of everyone, _Mikuo sighed. His eyes instantly held a hint of seriousness when he felt the mysterious person nearing them.

'Hmm...interesting.' The pink haired female told in a fascinated tone. No one in that academy dared to defy her or even speak to her regarding discipline, but the crimson haired student could destroy a school property without feeling any guilt, this caught her attention. Although annoyed by Kiku's attitude, she had no desire to drag the conversation because the principal had requested her to do something regarding to the transferred students.

'I am the leader of Shirokuro's Discipline Committee,' she raised up her left shoulder slightly, showing them the red tag with school crest pinned on her black sleeve, 'requested by the principal to lead you to the dormitory.' Subsequently, everyone followed behind her as they walked out of the clock tower. Once again, the elevator was ignored. (Will be repaired later)

At the same hallway outside the examination room, a certain young Husky was growling and baring his fangs at Mikuo as he watched them moved out of the building. Even though his eyes were opened, they showed no consciousness within them as though he had been controlled. Around his neck, a pendant was glowing luminously.

* * *

(Teacher's office)

A female invigilator placed five stacks of scripts on the desk, expecting impressive answers from the transferred students since Shirokuro Academy only accepted those who had talents or high standards in studies. Holding a red pen in hand, she started marking.

(Marking of the first script)

The first page was full of drawings. When she glanced at them, the invigilator noticed that all the drawings were bread of different kinds. She flipped to the next page and the next and the next...and realised that all of them were drawings of bread. Although she was amazed by how the student knew such variety of pastry, they were improper for the test. The last few pages were blank, as though that student got bored from the examination.

(Marking of the second script)

The examiner sighed and proceeded to the next script. Blank. No scribbles or any written work, he or she did not even write his or her name. Disappointed by the academy's selection of students, she reached her hand out to another script.

(Marking of the third script)

''Which is the best place to hide corpses?'' A question was written as an answer when the invigilator glanced.

''I was thinking of a garden to bury those corpses.'' The statement was written as an answer for the second question.

''And I would name it 'Fear Garden'.'' Another statement was written as the third answer. It was quite obvious that the student had ignored the mathematical problems, scribbling down his or her random opinions. The next few ''answers'' were a list of ways to torture people. The methods of torturing were so gruesome to the point where she almost throw up.

_Why is this delinquent in Shirokuro academy? No, not a delinquent but a sadist! _The invigilator finally finished marking the script, putting it aside with trembling fingers.

(Marking of the fourth script)

The next paper was full of foolish answers from the very beginning to the end. After marking the first four papers, she facepalmed, not understanding why the principal would accept them.

(Marking of the fifth script)

She glimpsed at the last script thinking it was not worth marking. After ten minutes, her eyes sparkled. That was one of the rare times a script had a perfect score and she was impressed.

* * *

(Dormitory)

'From the list that I have here, Mikuo's room number is 211, Len's room number is 212, Rin would be 213, Teto is 214 and Kiku is 215. That's all.' The pink haired female read out, taking out five keys from her skirt pocket. The keys were designed differently with numbers carved into them. Pushing open a well polished wooden door, they noticed that the ground level of the dormitory were filled with several glass tables and arm chairs. There were also two spiral-like stairs leading to the upper floors.

'Then I shall take my leave now,' The student strolled out before stopping after a few steps.

'Luka. Megurine Luka.' She told, her back facing them and proceeded walking out again. Mikuo simply smiled at her even though she could not see it.

(Room 211)

Gripping onto his key, the azure blue haired male casted a glance at the surroundings of his own room. A bed was placed at a corner with a blanket neatly folded, beside it was a desk and a white shelf on top. On the opposite wall was a closet hanged with various uniforms, including summer set and winter set. The window had its curtains tied to one side, revealing the pavilion that was in the garden. A few meters from the window was the bathroom.

Mikuo threw himself onto the bed, eyes half closed as he reviewed about the events that happened within that one week. Seven days ago, Ookami Clan were invaded by Deadless due to the Devoured Night, then he met Kiku, who occasionally slashed him for no reason. While searching a way out from the cave that was in Neko Clan, they encountered Rin and Len and managed to get out. Three days ago, after helping Teto to escape from the beasts, they hid in an under-cliff cave but got swept out by a waterfall. They went to Hoshikawa Lake after Kiku ''solved'' her social problem. Then, Sylvette transferred them to this world so that they could retrieve the seven pendants...thus, his wish would be granted (at least that was what he thought).

'Arigatou, everyone.' He mumbled to himself.

.

.

.

(Midnight, 12 a.m.)

He was still lying (probably lazing) on his bed. Grinning slightly, he faced the door and attempted to examine the situation outside. All the time while resting, the unpleasant aura had never once vanished, now lurking around the dormitory. He got up from the bed and gazed at the clock. Perfect, it was midnight.

Twisting the key on the door knob, he unlocked the door. When he stepped out, everyone were already waiting for him. At the dark corridor, their eyes flashed according to their own power - Dark Flames, Pure electric etc.

The hunt begins. No doubt about it, the first pendant had made its appearance.

* * *

Ayano: So, I introduced Luka...but she will not have any major role though (simply a side character).

Arigatou to otanoshimini.


	8. Chapter 8

7 Pendants

Hinasaki Rio gasped when she realised that one of the fences was unlocked. Stepping a foot forward, she searched for the animal, hoping that it did not roamed out of the vivarium. Spotting a collar unattached, she sighed.

'It is already midnight, where could Kuro chan went off to?' She mumbled to herself, hanging a worried expression. It was in the middle of the night, so all gates and entrances around the academy would be closed, meaning that ''Kuro chan'' would still be in the building. With that in mind, Rio was determined to find the lost animal regardless how huge Shirokuro academy was.

* * *

'The stalking presence is wavering. I can hardly sense it.' Mikuo spoke.

'It might had noticed our pursue and is trying to avoid encountering us face to face.' Len suspected.

'But at the same time, this animal is grasping opportunities to attack us by other means.' Rin added.

'So this is like a game of tag with a little tactics involve.' Teto was getting excited, eyes gleaming.

'Splitting up would be a better choice since we are dealing with time. We have six hours before 6 a.m. where almost everyone start to wake up.' Len suggested. It was undesirable for them to be spotted by another student who might think that they were doing something ''suspicious''.

'Wait,' Mikuo was concerned about something, 'by this time most of the doors in this academy are locked. How do we enter?' Almost instantly, Kiku flashed three cards in front of them and smirked.

'Tap these cards at any sensor and the door will open. I ''borrowed'' them from the Baka-Principal.' In truth, she had stolen them to use for her own purpose - destroy Shirokuro Academy (needed information about the school to work on it).

Everyone discussed among themselves, then proceeded as planned. Mikuo and Len went towards the northern areas of the academy while Rin and Teto head for the southern areas, Kiku would search in the clock tower.

'I somehow feel that we can find the pendant. Let's win this tag game!' Teto whispered to Rin in a cheerful tone, having an air of confidence.

_It is not a game, _Rin thought while sweatdropping. Meanwhile, they approached a building that had a label ''Music'' with a huge musical note beside it. The glass door slid open after they tapped the card on the sensor, and the lights automatically switched on.

Cautiously lifting a trumpet, the pigtailed female peered into the hole. 'I wonder how does the ''mysterious person'' looks like... it would be easier knowing the appearance.'

'Anything could be possessed by the pendants, but the pendants must stay close enough to control them,' the yellow haired female searched at the corners before continuing speaking, '...at least this fact could help a little.' Climbing onto a stool to cast a glance on the top shelf, she only discovered music scores.

They peered into instrument casings. Nowhere to be found.

Went to the second level and searched the concert hall, including under the chairs and the backstage. Nowhere to be found.

Went to the third floor and found themselves in a spacious room full of mirrors with a grand piano at a corner. nowhere to be found.

'Looks like the animal is not in the music apartment.' Rin commented. _This is going to be a long night..._she hid a sighing expression.

'Rin, let's go to that laboratory,' Teto pointed while grinning, 'my instinct can't be wrong.' Her eyes displayed confidence.

Sliding the metallic door to the left, they had a view around the room before closing it.

CLANK.

'!' The shattering of glass could be heard followed by black lightning movement brushing passed them.

'What was that?' Rin examined a display of fossils and noticed that half of it were on the floor, there were also some glass fragments.

'Oh, take a look at this.' The pigtailed female told, having a surprised expression. 'They even have a Husky for display, isn't he adorable? He even has a pendant around his neck.' Rin's eyes widened when she noticed Teto's hand was reaching towards the Husky.

'No, don't touch him! He is-'

'Yep, I know.' Teto's eyes indicated for Rin not to worry. She casted a ''Restriction'' spell on the animal, thus the Husky's movements were bound within her pink magic circle. No matter how much he scratched or snarled at the invisible wall, he could not get out.

Immediately, both females had a deep sense of guilt. 'Aww, he is actually innocent, just that he is possessed by the pendant.' They decided to retrieve the pendant as soon as possible so that the Husky could be free from being controlled.

It was not long when the pendant that was around his neck emitted a strange beam that seemed to be weakening the ''Restriction'' spell. With a forceful pounce, the young Husky manged to overcome the spell and darted towards the exit.

'No way,' Teto's eyes widened, 'the pendant broke my spell so easily?' She was surprised by the sight.

'It's alright, the pendant won't escape.' Rin assured, watching the situation. Just when the animal stepped out of the lab, a bright yellow magic circle emerged on the ground where he was standing and a minor blitz ran through his blood. However, he was not affected. No pain, no paralysis. The next moment, the pendant was forcefully being repelled out of the Husky's neck, it was now floating on mid air.

'I made sure the Pure Electric was not strong enough to harm the Husky.' Hurting some innocent animals was not Rin's style after all.

'Yosh~,' The pigtailed female smiled at the pendant which was floating. However, the pendant sensed that there was a threatening aura around her which sent shivers to it.

(Morning, 02:17 a.m.)

Mikuo and Len were in a herbarium at the backyard. Since just now, they could sense a person's presence around the area and felt suspicious. Lying their backs against the wall, they knew that someone was at the other side of the wall.

'Kuro chan, are you here?' A desperate whisper echoed, 'Kuro chan.'

Both of them immediately knew that the female was not the person who they had been searching for. _Kuro chan? _The azure blue haired male tilted his head, wondering who ''Kuro chan'' was.

'Whoever you are looking for is not here.' He suddenly spoke, startling the female.

'We have searched the whole place.' Len added. Gradually, they revealed their appearances. When she realised that two male students were approaching her, Rio got frightened and took a few steps back.

'Don't worry, we are also searching for something, that is why we are here.' Len assured while smiling. His smile caused her to blush slightly. Her dark brown hair was braided at the end, tied with a red ribbon.

'So what were you looking for?' Mikuo inquired, wondering whether he could help her despite already having something to search for. Rio's sheepish expression instantly changed into a worried one.

'...Well, a Husky that was born a few months ago had gone missing.' She began explaining, 'if Natsumi sensei found out, I will be in trouble since I am her assistant.' She told in a solemn tone.

'How about we help you search? We are looking for something anyway.' Mikuo offered. Len did not object. Widening her eyes in delight, Rio was extremely grateful.

'Arigatou gozaimasu!' She bowed with courtesy, then introduced herself.

* * *

The clock tower had mainly two sections- information(students' and teachers' profiles) and technology. There was a staff room and general office at the top level, along with the principal office. The remaining spaces were for examination purposes. Previously, the crimson haired female had browsed through the first and second floor which stored the profiles of all students and teachers. Surprisingly, the security was not tight in those areas. With a tap of the card on the sensor, entering was possible. It was hard work to examine page by page, file by file as she skimmed at those documents. The only profiles that she was interested were the teachers.

_They might be useful, _Kiku thought, having a devilish satisfactory smile.

The third and fourth level were full of technology facilities - engineering tools and goggles were lying everywhere beside some unfinished products, computers were placed at one side to keep track of the data. The fifth level was for examination purposes, the place where they were tested earlier. She searched thoroughly throughout the clock tower although she believed that traces of the pendant would not be found since its aura could not be detected. After inspecting and confirming that nothing useful could be discovered, she left to proceed to the sixth floor (final floor).

On her way, Kiku passed by the elevator that they took earlier. It was not damaged or dented in any parts, as good as new. The sight of the elevator annoyed her after remembering about the lift-accident that happened in the afternoon.

'Heh! Seems like you have been repaired.' She had an expression of you-are-just-lucky. 'If not for this time-constraining search, I would have blasted you again. Be grateful.' With that, she continued walking.

On the last level, penetrating into the staff room or general office was not possible due to higher securrity. Just when she was about to leave, Kiku heard a mumble from the principal office which alarmed her a little.

'No, they did not suspect me,' the voice was very similar to Tsubasa's.

'...Yes, things are going as planned. It's only the beginning.' Hearing his satisfied tone, Kiku narrowed her eyes, trying to figure out who was on the phone. However, all she could hear was a muffled voice. Just when she was about to burst the door open with her Pure Flames, the clock on the tower struck four in the morning. The crimson haired female frowned, knowing it was the meet-up time. She clenched her fist and left.

* * *

The pendant was having a hellish experience when encountering the pigtailed female. It never knew that females could be such scary existences.

'How could you possessed an innocent Husky like him!' Finally, the pendant was trapped in a corner, struggling to think of an idea to get out. 'I will show you how a Shirotora clansman ''fight''.' Her eyes sparkled threateningly. The next moment, a bright pink magic circle emerged on the ground where the pendant was floating and the air swirled around the magic circle rapidly. Escaping out of the magic circle was impossible because the pendant would immediately be sliced into pieces by the rapid wind.

'Cleansing begins now.' Teto grinned innocently, manipulating the codes which were part of the magic circle. With a short flash of bright beam light, the magic circle immediately disappeared and the pendant dropped to the ground as though admitting defeat. However, the pendant no longer emitted unpleasant aura or glow strangely, it revealed its true appearance and was shining with a light pink radiance.

'Hehe,' the pigtailed female flicked out her index and middle fingers to form a V-shape. 'Victory!'

'Amazing, Teto!' Rin thrilled, they sent hi-five to each other. Now that the first pendant was retrieved, they had six more to go.

'...If I remember correctly, this is the Pendant of Purification. Pictures of it were painted on scrolls in Neko Clan.' The yellow haired female stated, only to realise that Teto was not listening at all, shuffling the Husky's neck affectionately while healing him. He no longer had a terrifying glare.

'Aww, he is so cute!' His eyes displayed consciousness and was no longer possessed.

Suddenly, the door slid open which startled them. 'Kuro...chan?'

'!' Thinking that the person was an offender, Rin and Teto had a defensive posture. However, the young Husky seemed to recognise the voice, dashing to her delightfully and wagged his tail. She kneeled to the ground and sprawled her hands wide open, smiling to the animal as though welcoming him to her arms. Confused by the situation, the yellow haired and pigtailed females exchanged glances with each other.

'...So this is the ''Kuro chan'' you are searching.' A familiar male voice spoke, entering the room while watching the Husky snuzzling to Rio's face.

'Len!' Rin exclaimed, somehow feeling relieved. Behind him was Mikuo, who simply greeted with a carefree smile.

'...But who is she?' Teto inquired, diverting her attention to the braided female. She had only healed the Husky half way until the she barged in.

'Hinasaki Rio is an assisstant, taking care of animals in the vivarium.' Mikuo explained, hanging his usual laid back expression. 'She was searching for this Husky after realising that he went missing.' Rio smiled sheepishly at them and greeted. Soon, they bid her farewell and walked out of the laboratory, heading towards the dormitory while Rio hastened her pace towards the vivarium with the Husky.

'Yosh! Six more pendants to go!' Teto punched her fist into the air, grinning. Just when everyone were happy with their first retrieval, Rin's yellow eyes widened when she stared at the clock on the tower.

'We are late for the meet-up time!' She alerted, 'Kiku might be waiting for us.' With that, everyone rushed back.

Outside the window, two figures were silently sitting on a tree branch as they fixed their eyes on Mikuo and his friends, who were running back towards the dormitory.

'...Seems like we are late on retrieving the Pendant of Purification.' A male voice commented. The leaves casted a shadow on their faces while light from the moon shone onto their body, only showing their black and yellow clothings and their Mikado yellow hair.

'...Rivals.' A female voice mumbled to herself, diverting her attention off them and gazed at the starless night sky.

Back at the dormitory, everyone were equally puzzled when they noticed that Kiku was not there yet. Immediately, a thought struck Mikuo and he hid a teasing expression.  
_  
_'She really has a bad sense of directi-'

WHAM.

'You talked too much, Baka Ookami.' The crimson haired female had just returned and vented her anger when she heard something unpleasant. Although what he said was the truth, she refused to admit it.

'Anyway, that Tsukasa or Subasa or whatever-his-name-is cannot be trusted now.' She told in a matter-of-fact tone, walking into her room and closed the door before anyone could ask further questions.

* * *

Ayano: Arigatou to otanoshimini.


	9. Chapter 9

7 Pendants

(Morning, 6 a.m.)

Before the lesson starts, everyone were called to the general office to have their test papers back.

'We were called for such trivial matter?' Kiku had an expression of don't-piss-me-off.

'I could have slept for extra fifteen more minutes.' Teto pouted. After reaching the sixth floor of the clock tower, they were led into the office by a teacher. When Teto lifted her script, she squealed with joy.

'I got fourth place out of all fifty students!'

'I see, then I'm second.' Mikuo responded, asking Kiku about hers.

'Third.' She answered in a tone of satisfactory. The teacher who led them in was astounded to discover their way of thinking, looking at them awkwardly.

'...you got the wrong concept,' Rin sweatdropped. 'The higher the marks is better, and this paper is out of fifty, not fifty students participate in it.'

Mikuo and Teto stared at her in disbelief, speechless. The only condolence Kiku gave herself was that at least she did better than ''Baka Ookami''.

'...' Len was extremely surprised by his results, absolutely no idea how he could do so well.

* * *

Clearing his throat, Sensei ordered the students to settle down and announced that there were five transfer students joining their class. He gave a cue for them to enter while requesting for them to introduce themselves. Except Kiku, the four of them realised that other than their names, there was nothing else to say. Mikuo was nervous to meet so many classmates of his age, feeling slightly nauseous. Rin, Len and Teto were able to smile naturally as though they were familiar with the surroundings.

Getting love-struck by his smile and gaze, the female classmates (except Luka) squealed inwardly while secretly hoping to know Len better. The males were also love-struck by Rin's extreme cuteness, having random fanatical dreams.

Kiku's death glare was enough to send shivers down their spine, causing the students (except Luka) to instantly drag back their tables and chairs, creating a big gap around her. Their intuition warned them not to get close to the delinquent, besides, she did not state her name.

'You can fill the seats at the back row.' Sensei assigned, wanting to start homeroom. Mikuo took the seat beside the window, Kiku sat beside him, Teto chose the seat beside her while Rin had hers next to Len, relieved that she was not near the window. Once sensei began his lesson, the five of them immediately dozed off. (They only had an hour of sleep)

.

.

.

.

A week had passed since their enrolment and they were getting used to the environment. During lessons, Mikuo would usually gazed out at the scenery and daydream, having a carefree attitude. The teachers could not be bothered with him as he was not serious at all.

The twins, on the other hand, had been paying attention in class, doing well in their studies and sports. Many female students were jealous of Rin as she was always close to Len, seemingly having fun together. However, the male students would glare back at the females, warning them not to hurt Rin. Somehow, the yellow haired female attracted fanboys while the yellow haired male attracted fangirls.

Teto could get along with her classmates due to her amiable character, making countless friends. Her cheerful aura never failed to lighten the tensed atmosphere, causing things to move at her pace. The pigtailed female often drew pictures of bread during lessons, occassionally paying attention.

To Kiku, homeroom is ''boredom''. She slept throughout it until everything was over or sometimes glare at sensei for no reason. Her classmates dared not get close to her due to her ''delinquent aura'' and cold stares.

The five of them were having yet another ordinary morning, strolling back to the classroom because breaktime was over. Without warning, an average male student approached them in a slow and nervous manner. As he got nearer, he seemed to be panicking and eventually stopped in front of Kiku.

'Hm! I see, so you came to challenge me right?' She assumed, having a bloody grin. His eyes widened and instantly shook his head.

'N-no, I didn't come to fight you. I just...erm...' He stuttered, unable to meet her eyes.

'I...I-'

'Just talk already!' She glared, annoyed by his character. 'Don't waste my-'

'I-I like you!' He finally shouted, cutting her speech off. There was an awkward moment of silence as everyone tried to absorb the situation.

'Pfft!' Rin and Len placed their hands over their mouth to control themselves from laughing, crouching their stomach.

'That was really random.' Mikuo told, staring at the boy in astonishment. Teto thumbs-up at him for having the courage to confess to her.

Kiku frowned at him, her facial expression demanded him to explain.

'Well, I like that you are strong, cool...'

An anger mark appeared on her head as she narrowed her eyes.

'Always accepting challenges from the delinquents, giving nasty looks.'

Pure Flames emerged behind her and more anger marks appeared on her forehead.

'Basically, I like yandere.' The student concluded, smiling at her.

_Taboo. _Teto thought, hiding a teasing expression.

Kiku twitched. The last word was the trigger for her to snap.

'...You definitely have a death wish!' She bellowed, gritting her teeth and cracked her knuckles. Before he could react, she launched a punch with flames towards his chin, which caused him to fly out of the window grilles with a 'Aghh!'

'Those are not compliments for a female after all,' Rin sighed.

'But his comments are so true.' Mikuo mumbled to himself, watching how far that student had flown.

'You better not let Kiku hear it.' Len whispered. The crimson haired girl was uttering a few curses, managing to simmer down slightly when Teto offered a vanilla cookie.

When they returned back to class, there was already a commotion going on among the classmates as they argued about a class trip.

'I still think that a beach resort is the best,' A ponytailed girl insisted, eyes dazzling when she thought about the cool breeze and sea. Some of the guys objected and said that they prefer Shiana hotspring, the one nearest to a shrine.

'Oh, so you are back.' A pink haired female noticed them. Just in time, we are discussing a suitable place for our class trip. Do you have any suggestion?' She had a leader-like expression, waiting for them to respond. Not only was she the leader of the student council, she was also the class president. Noticing their questioning looks, Luka decided to explain. Apparently, she was using the break time to hold the discussion, scribbling students' ideas onto the whiteboard.

'Class trip? I'm fine with anything.' Mikuo told.

'A place full of oranges.'

'A place full of bananas might be better.'

'A place full of bread is the best!'

Rin, Len and Teto suggested in unison, whereas Kiku was not in the mood, walking to her seat.

'She is still fuming,' The pigtailed female giggled. Luka assumed that the five of them were fine with any places, finally announcing to the class.

'Based on majority, I have decided on Shiana hotspring.' She began speaking, 'everyone have half an hour to pack your things and meet at the roof top of this building, those who are late will go by themselves. That's all!' The pink haired female had the usual leadership tone, gazing around to see if there were any opinions. Immediately, the students rushed back to their dorms at top speed with anticipation, preparing for the trip.

'Roof top? Why are we assembling there?' Rin inquired, tilting her head.

Luka grinned, 'you shall know later.'

.

.

.

When Mikuo and his friends had gathered, all the classmates had already arrived, chatting and laughing among themselves. It was not long until Sensei came, signalling with his hand to a faraway object that seemed to be nearing them as time goes by.

'Tch, so he is coming along too.' Kiku glared.

Len fixed his eyes at three approaching objects in the sky. 'Those are helicopters.' He told.

'Eh?' Rin gasped, 'don't tell me that we are...'

'Going to fly!' Teto had always wanted to experience flying, having a view of the beautiful city. Hinasaki Rio, their classmate, remarked that Shiana hotspring was far from the academy, thus a helicopter would be faster than a bus.

'There is also a festival.' Rio added in a cheerful tone, making Teto more anticipated. Without further delay, Sensei ordered the students to board the helicopters while he got himself onto a private jet.

_Shirokuro Academy is awfully rich..._Mikuo thought, peering out of the window (he became fond of window-seat). Although Rin appeared to be smiling on the outside, she was trembling on the inside and it seemed that only Len knew.

'Rin, sleeping throughout might be better.' He suggested.

'Hn,' Giving a bitter smile, she agreed and rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes. Due to the long journey and boredom, everyone (except Kiku), dozed off within thirty minutes.

* * *

(Evening, 5:44 p.m.)

The whizzing sound from the helicopter stirred Mikuo as he sat up while glimpsing out of the window with his eyes half closed. They were landing onto a ground surrounded by light mists.

'We are finally here!' Teto suddenly shouted in delight, startling the passengers.

'...Mhm...' The yellow haired female twitched her eyes before getting up, looking around to figure out where she was. Realising that she was still ''trapped in high places'', her body stiffened and wished that she was still asleep. Len, who had woken up a while ago, smirked at her reaction.

'I will make a promise,' he assured, flicking out his little finger towards her. 'I will help you overcome your acrophobia one day. you will be amazed by the beautiful aerial view.' He smiled, causing Rin to blush slightly. Gradually, she also flicked out her little finger and tied it with his finger.

'Eh? It's morning already?' Rio inquired in a sleepy tone, rubbing her eyes.

'We have arrived at Shiana hotspring.' Mikuo responded while stretching his arms. After the whole class got off the helicopters, a mistress in charge of the inn came out from the front gate and greeted them.

'Welcome to Shiana hotspring. The outside looks misty but once you are in, it's much clearer and prettier.' She led them in and showed their rooms. There was a bridge connecting between a lake and a pavilion, there were also public baths producing steams.

'Ah~ I want to soak in one of those baths after the festival.' Teto exclaimed, picturing the luxury. Sensei gave the students priviledge of doing whatever they want until 10 p.m., where they should be back at the inn sleeping.

(Evening, 6:33 p.m.)

After putting on their selected kimonos, Rin and Teto smiled triumphantly and waited for their friends outside. They had managed to persuade Kiku to wear a kimono with one of their Rin-Teto persuasive talks.

Stepping onto the lane, the five of them was amazed by the festive atmosphere. There rows of game and food stalls, along with laughter and shouting that contributed to the festive mood.

'I want to try that!' Teto head towards a stall that tests on luck and fortune. An old lady grinned when she spotted her, placing five cups and a pebble in front of her.

'The rules are simple. Guess correctly which cup the pebble is hidden and you win.' After instructing, a machine dropped the pebble in a random cup and shifted them rapidly before halting.

Without hesitating, Teto pointed to a left cup. Correct. In the next round, five more cups were added and shifted. She picked the right one again. This continued for a few more rounds.

'Not bad.' The old lady concluded, handing a prize to Teto and congratulate her.

'Ehehehe...' Teto formed a V-shape with her fingers.

Next, the twins decided to try on a stall involving target-shooting. Furthermore, the game could only be played in pairs. After loading the fake revolvers with cartridges, they positioned themselves at opposite ends, then started firing at the moving targets with exact timing, proceeding towards the centre. The next set of targets shifted positions, moving quicker in random directions. They waited for the right moment before hitting at one shot, not giving the targets any chance of ''escaping'' until all are down. Passers-by were amazed by their reaction speed and flawless coordination.

'Yosha!' When the last target went down, they gave each other a hi-five.

'Thanks for playing.' The stall holder passed a gift as appreciation. While the twins were fascinated over the mini mascots, Kiku challenged Mikuo to a game of goldfish scooping.

'Hah?' The azure blue haired male had a stunned expression.

After reaching the stall, a man provided paper nets for them and instructed that they catch goldfishes without breaking it. The crimson haired female had eyes full of determination while he still had that laid back expression.

(Ten minutes had passed)

Not long after the challenge had commenced, Kiku broke five nets while Mikuo broke four. As they continued, more nets were broken until each of them broke more than twenty.

'...Urgh...' It was the first time the stall-holder saw such bad players, 'you can stop playing now. There are other stalls you can try.' He told. No, he begged, unable to bear watching more nets getting broken.

Meanwhile at the other side of the festival, a Mikado yellow side-ponytailed female was paying for two fried ice cream.

'Hmph! If not for your endless annoyance about this festival, I would be sleeping by now.' She complained, receiving the change and fried ice cream.

'It is way too early to sleep, Neru,' Her brother commented, taking his share. 'Besides, we had a bet that whoever lose in that game would treat this.' He smirked and took a bite.

'...' She did not argue back as her eyes were fixed on someone. After awhile, she felt the Pendant of Freedom in her skirt pocket emitting heat.

'It is reacting to their pendant...' She had a serious expression which changed into a neutral one. 'Whatever, I will still explore this festival more.'

'Oh?' Nero had a teasing expression, 'so you are enjoying this festival?' Blinking once, the side-ponytailed female attempted to hide her flushed expression. 'O-Of course not, who would enjoy this festival.'

She fell silence when she spotted a certain azure blue haired male and his friends walking towards their direction while chatting happily. When they walked passed each other, the siblings acted as though they were complete strangers.

Clutching onto her pocket(do kimonos have pocket?), Teto wondered why the pendant was emitting heat, but soon it got off her mind when she noticed some fireworks in the scarlet sky. Then, there was a familiar female voice.

'Sorry for the wait!' Rin shouted as she ran, hands full of boxes.

'The queue was long.' Len added while handing out everyone's Takoyaki set.

'Ah~ the sky is full of colours!' The pigtailed female exclaimed while opening her own set, eyes fixed at the sudden outbursts of flames.

'Too noisy.' Kiku commented although her eyes glistened slightly when she gazed at the fireworks.

'Ehehe,' The pigtailed female took out something, 'I won a packet of sparklers just now, why don't we play after eating?' She inquired with expected eyes.

'Oh!' Rin, Len and Mikuo agreed in unison, punching their fist in the air while Kiku simply nodded. The trouble of searching for the source of fire was unnecessary as they could easily get the sparklers lighted up by Mikuo and Kiku.

Soon, the twins were swaying the sparklers in all sorts of directions, fascinated by the string of light it produced. Teto, holding two sparklers per hand, was swaying them in spiral fashion, commenting that theirs were more attractive than the fireworks in the sky.

'...' Mikuo marvelled at the warm radiance of the sparklers. Earlier on, he was still sulking silently for being ''chased away'' from the goldfish scooping stall. Then, there was a feeling of unease rousing within him when he walked passed two unknown teenagers. However, all those mixed feelings gradually disappeared as he continued gazing at the sparklers.

_I didn't know Dark Flames was also capable of producing such spectacular view..._ Somewhere deep within him, he was very much relieved and consoled. For all his life, he had known that destruction was the only outcome that he could create out of his Dark Flames, be it major or minor. At the sight of such alluring sparks, his sky blue eyes glistened slightly. Staring at Kiku, he wondered if she was feeling the same.

That day's festival was very special, to him at least - it was his first time having fun with his friends ever since they met. Lighting up the last sparkler, Mikuo wished vainly for time to extend.

Twilight drew down and night came on. Everyone returned to Shiana Hotspring and decided to have a soak in one of the public baths before turning in.

'So warm...' Len said in a relaxing tone, going deeper under the water while enjoying the wafting of steam over his face.

'There seems to be more stars gleaming tonight, maybe we can spot a shooting star?' Rin spoke, triumphant at the thought.

'Shooting star? Heh! I'll shoot it with hundreds of Pure Flames before it shoot us.' Kiku told, obviously misunderstood the true meaning of it. Everyone sweatdropped except Teto, who asked for the reason innocently and full of curiosity. The crimson haired girl answered in one of her convenient replies - 'Because I feel like it.'

* * *

Ayano: Arigatou to otanoshimini.


	10. Chapter 10

7 Pendants

(Day two of the trip, 3:51 p.m.)

Mikuo peered curiously at the wooden pieces.

'What are we suppose to do with these?' Teto inquired, tilting her head.

'Solve this puzzle as quickly as possible to avoid getting the worst activity.' Rin answered while shifting a block. Apparently, Sensei had organised several activities. The group which completed the puzzle last will get the worst one.

'All the activities planned are the worst.' Kiku mumbled to herself, could not be bothered with it. Len was much depended by them, already completing half of the puzzle. Leaning his back on a trunk, Mikuo casted a glance at the greenery, relaxing his mind and allowed his thoughts to wonder. He was not good with puzzles anyway. The 5-days,4-nights class trip was more boring than he thought.

'!' A thwack of a broken branch caught his attention as he sensed someone's presence nearby.

'...The pendant is warm again...' Teto clutched her pocket, unsure of the reason.

'Warm? Could it be that it is reacting to another pend-'

There was a stumbling sound, distracting Len as he diverted his attention to it. A young boy around the age of five fell flat onto the ground, scrambling to get up. Immediately, Mikuo recognised the object hanging on his wrist.

_Why would he have a pendant? _He thought to himself, spacing out for a moment.

'Ah,' the boy stared at them and somehow recognised them, 'another bunch of people from Excalique World.' He got up and removed the dirt from his pants.

'Hehe, you will have to play tag with me if you want this.' He stuck out his tongue and swayed the pendant gleefully before scarrying off to the bushes.

Mikuo grinned lightly, amused by the child's challenge. 'I guess we have to go at his pace.' He told, being cool-headed as usual.

'...then we shall go first.' Rin had eyes filled with determination, proceeding on the chase together with Len. Once again, there was a sudden change of events. Who cares about the puzzle anyway, obtaining the pendant was priority.

'But, we need to report back to the shrine soon...' Teto reminded.

'Heh! Leave that to me.' The crimson haired female had an evil grin, 'that research at the clock tower is useful at a time like this.' Her ruby eyes blazed as she gave off a demonic aura.

'...' Mikuo recognized the icy glint and immediately knew that the devil within her had awakened. He left the matter to Kiku and darted ahead together with Teto.

'I am not losing in this game!' The pigtailed female told in a confident tone.

At the deeper part of the woods, the distance between the twins and the boy was shortening, their pursue was a silent one until the yellow haired male spoke.

'We might not be the only ones from Excalique World searching for the pendants.'

Rin blinked in confusion, 'Eh?'

'Earlier on, that boy mentioned ''another'' when he met us so I was thinking...'

She instantly caught what he meant. 'That we have rivals?' Rin completed. Len nodded seriously. The young boy who was enjoying the game began to notice that they were closing up to him. After skimming through a mischievous thought, he halted beside a vine yard. Grabbing the pendant tightly towards his chest, he closed his eyes as though he was wishing for something. Startled by his actions, the twins stopped by a tree branch a few metres away from the boy and watched him intently. After a few seconds, the air around him concentrated at a point, forming a kind of distorted shape. A shape that was too familiar to be forgotten.

'!'

'H-How could a Deadless be transferred into this world so easily?' The yellow haired female asked herself while summoning Pure Electric on her right arm and palm. Once the beast showed its fangs, the twins sparked off to their usual battle formation and began their first attack, having no choice but allowing the boy to escape.

'Grra!' It swung a wind slash towards them but the weak attack got deflected to one side, hitting something metallic. The metallic sound then screeched to an electrifying pitch.

Lowering his electrified chained arrows, Nero glowered at the Deadless. The next moment, he charged the chains with Dark Electric and strike forth, piercing the beast's body. Although the strike was strong, the Deadless managed to survive, having most of its organs damaged or paralysed. Being quick-witted, Len took the opportunity to input lightning blitz onto the ground, directing the electrons to it. Rin boosted the speed and power of the blitz, the attack hurtled forward rapidly and finally shocked the beast to death.

Even though the threat was over, Rin felt suspicious by Nero's presence. From the nature of his power, she knew that he was from Karasu Clan.

_Could he be the person that the boy mentioned? _She wondered.

'...You can think of us as rivals since our aim is the same.' Neru (she just arrived) told Rin after noticing her questioning look. Not wanting to explain anything, the side-ponytailed female casted a glance at Nero before leaving, continuing her search for the boy. Rin naturally tailed behind the mysterious girl, half of it was because the route that Neru chose was the one that the boy took when he left, the other half was because she wanted to find out her real identity and purpose of obtaining the seven pendants.

'Len.' She gave a light call, turning her head slightly to notify him about her leave. The next moment, she before speeding up again. Instantly, Len blocked the view of Rin from Nero.

'Can't allow you to pass.' He said briefly with a serious expression.

'I don't intend to. I trust Neru.' The Mikado yellow haired male responded, drawing Dark Electric out and sent it to his opponent. Len was quick enough to sense the attack, dodging it while lunging a kick. Swerving to one side, Nero avoided the kick. He did a back flip up to mid air, fusing the electrons flow within his palm and prepared for a blow. Len did the same, generating a direct current and bracing it, increasing its energy level.

As though in sync, they charged at each other at the same time with such tremendous speed that trails of Dark Electric and Pure Electric were visible. Their sudden thrust had caused several flashes of light in the sky followed by a deafening explosion.

_I'm counting on you, Rin!  
_

* * *

(4:13p.m. ,Shiana Hotspring)

'H-How did you get all these information?' Sensei stuttered, dropping to the ground as though in defeat. 'Are you trying to blackmail me? This is not how a student should behave-'

'Then I will just reveal it to the public.' Kiku threatened, showing a sly smile. She had always wanted to give him a piece of her mind for conducting those dull lessons where he kept ''uttering nonsense'' all day.

'Urgh...fine! What do you want?'

'Nothing much, we just want to do whatever we want for this trip.' she replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

After considering for some time, Sensei agreed reluctantly as he had no choice.

Hanging a satisfactory smile, the crimson haired female headed back to the woods and searched for path tracks that would lead her to the others. While doing so, she felt a sudden intensity in the air, sensing a glimpse of voltage whizzing passed. The next second, a fusion of Pure and Dark Electric flashed before her, followed by a booming sound.

Suspicious of the situation, she quickened her pace and followed the tracks, knowing that someone from Karasu Clan was involved. She glanced through the bushes and trunks frequently to look for trails left by her friends, slowly progressing to catch up, when the trail suddenly split into two paths, Kiku picked the right and rushed ahead.

Minutes later, she noticed two yellow haired females sparing with each other. From afar, one of them was Rin and the other was unfamiliar. The crimson haired girl frowned.

'...Why do you want the pendants?' Rin asked, blocking Neru's side-kick. There were constant flashes of lightning as they striked each other rapidly non-stop. Annoyed by her chase, Neru waltzed in front of Rin, charging her fist with Dark Electric before sending an uppercut. The yellow haired female sensed the voltage and managed to dodge by doing a backflip, she was about to release a wide range swipe when she felt both wrists being grabbed forcefully and pulled down from behind.

'Never face your back against the enemy.' Neru hit her at the stomach with her knee which sent her a few meters away rapidly. However, Rin had driven Pure Electric current into her opponent's left arm without her realising.

'Sorry...but you are too meddlesome.' Lifting her right hand, the side-ponytailed female created a few purple magic circles, increasing the power intensity before firing it. Rin opened her eyes as she recovered from the previous attack. When she examined the situation, she realised that beams of Dark Electric were approaching directly towards her. Stunned by the sight, the yellow haired female knew she did not have sufficient time to seek cover, thus she shielded herself with her right arm despite knowing it was futile.

In an instant, a heat wave gushed through the air, followed by a Pure Flame flare which engulfed the beams.

'State your name.' The flare diminished, revealing a certain crimson haired female.

'Geez, stop running!' A familiar high pitch female voice was heard at a distance, causing the three of them to turn around. Soon, a young boy appeared, unaware that he was already spotted by them. He seemed to be running away from someone, having a panicky expression. However, he halted when he noticed three teenagers staring at him.

' .you!' A pigtailed female shouted in a cheerful tone, suddenly appearing beside the boy, giving him a startle.

'Teto!' Rin was surprised that her friends were appearing at random times, but was greatly relieved that they were alright.

'...' Pressing against her left arm, the side-ponytailed female tried to suppress the pain that suddenly emerged, not showing any hurtful expression.

Once again, the young boy grabbed the pendant around his neck with both hands and closed his eyes, as though wishing for something. Rin was quick enough to stop his action, not wanting anymore Deadless to appear. However, due to the half-complete request that he made, the half-completed ''wish'' was taking effect. Instead of Deadless, this time, Kiku was bound by black magic circles - there were a total of four circles binding both her wrists and ankles.

'Che! I actually wanted to bind all of you...' he pouted at Rin for stopping him. 'Whatever.' At his last word, the boy immediately turned and dashed away. Neru showed no hesitation and gave chase, determined to obtain the pendant around his neck before the pain on her left arm become too much for her to handle. Rin was about to run forward too until she noticed Kiku's restriction by the binds. Leaving her friends behind was not her style.

'Just go, I will back you up once I break the circles.'

'I will help, these black circles are not easy to dispel.' Teto commented.

Their trusts had built up Rin's confidence. As she sprinted forward, Teto boosted her physical status. In a flash, the yellow haired female was gone.

'That is fast.' Kiku was amazed by the speed.

'Hehe...I only just-wait! Don't force it to break!' The pigtailed female warned, having a panicky expression. Kiku had summoned her strength to shatter the circles, thinking that the binds were easy to shatter, but the action backfired. Instead of shattering, the black circles tightened their grip and injected dark energy into her body, causing her to cough out blood.

'This type of magic is tough to dispel, the more you move, the faster your stamina will be drained.' Teto added, starting to decode them. 'If we don't decode them soon, you might even die.' she stated in a worried tone. The crimson haired female frowned, her plight made her felt vulnerable and she hated it.

'Sorry for the trouble.' She mumbled, hiding an apologetic expression. Teto responded with a smile.

* * *

(5:41 p.m., somewhere deep in the woods)

Charging her energy intensity, Rin released a Pure Electric bolt to detach the pendant from the necklace which the boy wore. It floated on the highest layer of the forest, emitting pale blue light. The boy fainted subsequently.

_The boost from Teto is amazing! _Rin thought. Her physical status had increased considerably, including accuracy and reflexes. Just when she was about to retrieve the Pendant of Manipulation, Neru interfered which was expected. They waltzed between the tree trunks and sent a few powerful shock waves to each other, which were easily avoided by both parties. Within less than a second, Rin appeared beside her, startling Neru.

Using advantage of the ''caught off guard'' moment, Rin swirled and kicked her at the waist, the impact caused Neru to be pushed back rapidly. The side-ponytailed female pressed her footwear on the ground to produce friction, thus the process was slowed down. However, she happened to collide with a boulder with her left arm, causing immense pain and worsening the injury.

_My ''silent attack'' initially is taking effect. _The yellow haired female thought.

Despite being concerned about Neru's condition, Rin prioritised on helping Mikuo to obtain the pendant. She leapt high enough to reach the highest layer of the forest where the Pendant of Manipulation floated. As she was reaching out a hand to retrieve it, she accidentally peered down and was stunned.

_T-Too high..._Rin thought, being astonished for a few moments as though the time had frozen.

'I will be taking it,' Neru mumbled to herself while releasing the Dark Electric spells she had prepared earlier. The ground exposed three triangular dark purple magic spells which sent chain-like bolts whizzing through the air, approaching Rin. Sensing Dark Electric voltage, the yellow haired female recovered from acrophobia and searched for the source of the voltage. After spotting them, she created a set of bright yellow magic circles, releasing energy spark to counter against the chain-like bolts. Hence, Rin skilfully evaded Neru's attack.

However, she forgot that Neru was below her. The side-ponytailed female had generated and charged Dark Electric energy when Rin was distracted by the chain-like bolts. she prepared for a long range Dark Electric attack. Within seconds, she shot it and Rin was caught off guard. Neru's concentration was affected by the pain, thus the attack only caused Rin to be paralysed and burnt slightly.

Seizing the opportunity, Neru took the pendant and eluded.

'!' Upon leaving, a purifying arrow shot through her heart and outwards to the scarlet sky. The shocking and confusing situation astonished Neru, she halted for a moment before eluding again.

'...?...' The pigtailed female had a questioning look. 'She was not affected by my arrow...then that means that she do not have any bad or evil intentions.' Teto went deep into thoughts.

'Teto! Kiku!' Rin exclaimed, relieved to see her friends again. '...' But gradually, she hanged an apologetic expression and tilted her head down, allowing her fringes to cast a shadow on her face.

'...sorry.' Her reaction surprised both Teto and Kiku (they just arrived).

'You don't have to,' The crimson haired female told in a matter-of-fact tone, 'I did not keep my ''promise'' to back you up.'

Teto widened her eyes, not expecting that Kiku had this side of her.

'Yosh!' She had eyes full of optimism. 'Let's not think about it! The most important thing is to heal your injuries right now!' A light pinkish illusory sphere appeared on both Teto's hands as she started healing Rin. The yellow haired girl smiled slightly but was still disappointed at herself.

_If only I can overcome my acrophobia..._She thought, knowing that her acrophobia caused her to miss the chance of obtaining the Pendant of Manipulation for Mikuo.

'...' Teto healed in silence, racking her brain in mischief. After some time, an idea struck her and she grinned.

* * *

Ayano: Arigatou to otanoshimini.


	11. Chapter 11

7 Pendants

(Day two of the trip, 6:13 p.m.)

Len stood still on the ground to catch his breath, not shifting his eyes off the opponent. Nero was exhausted too, panting while fixing his gaze at Len in case there is any surprise attack. After some time, without warning, Nero manoeuvred to the side and accelerated towards Len while charging Dark Electric on his left palm. Len instantly withdrew the electrons in the air, fusing them to enhance his Pure Electric on one hand. The Mikado yellow haired male sent a sidekick but Len evaded it, doing a backflip and dragging Nero up to the air, occasionally sending powerful shock waves. Although they could barely see each other's movement(they had lightning-speed), they could sense the direction of the attack by detecting the swift motions of electrons.

The next moment, they receded a few distances away from each other, regenerating electricity on their palms. Without a doubt, they had decided to end the battle with a final blow. Len spurted forward while creating a magic circle, manipulating arrow-headed chains out of it. The electrified chains twirled between each other, forming a spiral and heading straight at Nero. Spotting a vacant hole in the middle of the electrified chains, the Mikado yellow haired male sparked forward into the spiral while lifting his left hand to prepare for an attack.

'!' when he reached to the centre, Nero felt slight Pure Electric current flowing within his body, affecting his Dark Electric concentration.

'You fell for it.' Len told, releasing Pure Electric from his bright yellow magic circle. The electricity burst forward.

'Tch, so it has come to this.' Realising that he was at a pinch, Nero's eyes flashed with Dark Electric. He summoned electricity and created three-layers magic circles, activating Dark Electric codes to gush forward towards the opponent. The sudden attack overpowered Pure Electric burst, ''devouring it''.

Just when the codes were about to ''devour'' the opponent, a familiar azure blue haired male appeared in front of it and ignited Dark Flames into the codes. There was a moment of struggle between the Dark Flames and the codes. The codes diffused and ''devoured'' the flame, then proceeded attempting to ''devour'' Mikuo.

Instantly, his eyes flashed with Dark Flames while Len's eyes flashed with Pure Electric, each of them released a long range attack which then merged together to form a single shot. The Pure Electric beam neutralised the Dark Electric codes, lowering its energy level while the Dark Flames flared all the way to Nero, ''engulfing'' him. The Mikado yellow haired male nearly withdrew all his power to shield himself, he created a defensive barrier to cancel out the Dark Flames energy and impact, causing immense explosion and smoke.

Immediately, Nero felt his vision blurred and almost lost consciousness.

'Heh? I was this exhausted?' He mumbled to himself, trying to focus his sight but to no avail.

'Tch, looks like our scores are unsettled.' He stated in a unsatisfied tone. Before the smoke cleared, he took the opportunity to retreat. When Len and Mikuo realised that the battle was currently over, they heaved a sigh of relieve.

'Arigatou, Mikuo.' He was grateful for his help, 'that really ended the battle for now.' Len commented. Mikuo blinked then shook his head thoroughly.

'I only aided on the very last moment, I didn't help much...' He felt guilty for not arriving earlier. 'But things are going to be troublesome for you, Len. Nero wanted to settle that score.'

'I know.' Len nodded in response.

'Anyway,' Mikuo's expression changed into a serious one, 'I was late for some reason.' He told, eyes hinted that it was not a small matter. 'It is about Tsubasa's intention in getting us enrolled into Shirokuro Academy.'

'Hn. I also have suspicion about that.' Len then suggested that they discuss about it tomorrow with everyone.

'Uwa!' Mikuo suddenly remembered something. The serious aura immediately vanished.

'?'

'The class is going to have APPLE cream puff in the evening! Let's not miss it!' The azure blue haired male rushed back to Shiana Hotspring.

The yellow haired male sweatdropped.

* * *

(Midnight)

Neru sat on the futon and laid her back against a wall, neutralising her injured left arm with Dark Electric. The pain was almost gone and she felt relieved.

'...' A certain Mikado yellow haired male entered the room and sat beside her. 'I'm back.'

'That was long.' She commented. 'Anyway, I got it.' She took out the Pendant of Manipulation and showed him.

He grinned slightly, 'as expected from Neru nee chan.'

The side-ponytailed female realised that there was an air of depression around her brother, even his tone held a hint of dissatisfaction.

'What happened?' Neru inquired, despite hanging an expression of I-don't-care.

_Can't hide anything from you, _Nero thought, sighing.

'That was so uncool.' He sulked, being straight-forward.

'?' She tilted her head.

'...' He hesitated on speaking. After awhile, he told. 'I escaped halfway during the fight, maybe I should have just-'

'Baka!' She snapped, having an anger mark on her forehead. 'Don't be depress for something like that, your well-being is definitely more important.' Soon, her stern expression changed into a sheepish one because she realised what she had just said. 'I-I mean I don't care whether you are alive or not, so even if you are dead...' She felt awkward for saying that. 'N-no, I mean-'

'I get it. You just care about me, that's all.' Nero grinned, 'you are the same as always, Tsundere.' He hid a smirking expression.

'Shut up! Stop calling me that.' she snapped again. 'I'm going to bed.' An anger mark appeared on her head, but she was glad that Nero was not depressed anymore.

'Oyasumi.' He whispered.

'Hn.'

(Day three of the trip, 7:56 a.m.)

The next morning, both of them changed into the kimonos that were prepared for them, heading towards the hotspring.

At the other side of the wall, Mikuo and his friends were strolling straight while trying to snap out of their sleepiness. Only Teto was full of energy and vigour.

'Hah~ today is a great day! I don't think anything unpleasant is going to happen.' They took a left turn.

BAM!

'Ouch...' The pigtailed female touched her head gently, 'aww, something unpleasant happened.' she whined in a childish tone.

'Did I bang into a wall or something?' Recovering from the fall, Neru stared ahead. Instantly, she and her brother had a posture as though they were prepared to fight. The initial sleepiness that was dwelling within Len, Rin and Kiku immediately disppeared, they were now wide awake and alert.

They had been staying for two nights in Shiana Hotspring and their rooms were next to each other!

'Good morning.' Mikuo greeted, the atmosphere around him was sparkling and light-hearted.

'Bad morning.' Neru responded in an uninterested tone.

'Don't steal my line.' The crimson haired female told.

Neru narrowed her eyes at her and Kiku glared, there seemed to be electricity producing out of their eyes as the atmosphere between the both of them became tense.

'The Yandere and Tsundere are having a war.' Rin and Teto commented in an amused tone.

'I'm not a Yandere!'

'I'm not a Tsundere.'

They snapped at the same time. Their reaction made the twins and even Nero, chuckled.

'Well, the more the merrier! Let's go to the hotspring together!' Teto beamed, punching a fist into the air and decided on that decision. Somehow, the situation was proceeding at her pace and everyone headed to one of the hotsprings.

.

.

.

An hour had passed since they had been into the hotspring and Mikuo regretted entering. ''Conflict'' began once they stepped into the water as blitz of Dark Electric sparked everywhere while Pure Flames almost engulfed the whole area, Rin and Len foresee the situation and had already sneaked off from the start, enjoying a soak somewhere else, Teto was munching onto a french bread while watching(and cheering).

The azure blue haired male sighed. Although the hotspring-conflict-incident was over and Nero and Neru left, the weird situations had not ended because in front of him right now was one of the events that Teto had created with her mischief.

'...Teto...' The yellow haired female had whirls spinning in her eyes as she was petrified. 'W-Why would you do this?' Rin stuttered, trying her best not to look down. The pigtailed female wanted to help Rin to overcome acrophobia.

'Well, I decided to do it the unique way!' She gave herself two thumbs-up.

(Teto's unique way)

She placed oranges and bananas all the way to the top of a building near Shiana hotspring to bait the twins. The only way to get down was to cross the bridge which was attached to a sight-seeing tower.

Rin was still stunned by the height, her soul came out from her mouth while Len sulked silently for being so easily tricked.

'Eh...' She pouted, 'how did they know that I fear height?' She did not remember telling her friends about her having acrophobia.

'That was obvious.' The crimson haired female mumbled in a matter-of-fact tone, wondering off somewhere else to explore as she was not interested. Mikuo and Teto returned back to their room as they were getting dizzy(they soaked too much in the hotspring).

Which means...the twins were alone.

_But most importantly..._Len thought halfway, looking at Rin.

'Everyone is worried about you...you were so depressed yesterday, that's not like you at all.' He told.

'...' Rin avoided his gaze, her pouted expression changed into a solemn one. 'I know...but it's my fault that the-'

'We do not care about that,' He affirmed, 'you forced yourself to smile today right? You can't hide it from me.' He placed his hand on her head and shuffled her hair. Rin felt her view getting blurred, thus she tried to control her tears.

_As expected of you to know me inside-out, _she thought. However, she refused to admit it.

'I did not.' She denied, causing Len to smirk slightly. He then offered out one hand towards her.

'I promised you that I will help you overcome your fear(chapter 9), right? Let's take this opportunity.' He hanged that usual smile which caused her to blush slightly.

Rin reached out her right hand reluctantly, before she could hold onto his hand, Len grabbed hers and pulled her towards him.

'Uwa,' she was startled by his sudden action. Once they stepped onto the stone bridge, Rin couldn't help but kept her eyes tightly shut, tugging onto Len's shirt.

'Relax...slowly open your eyes and fix your view at that mountain peak.'

'No way, this is ten kilometers high.'

'It's ten meters.' He sweatdropped at her over exaggeration.

'...Look! An orange is waving at you.' He told her in a tone full of enthusiasm and sarcasm. Despite that, Rin immediately opened her eyes wide.

'Where?! Where?!' She looked across the green landscape, hills, peered down at the woods, basically everywhere in search for her beloved orange.

'You had overcame acrophobia,' Len smirked. There was a few seconds of silence before she started to panic again. Immediately, she followed Len's instruction and fixed her view at the mountain top.

'Yosh, lower your sight gradually. You actually peered down at the woods just now, didn't you?'

Rin bit her lower lip, attempting to lower her view. Due to her fear, her body stiffened and her hands gripped tighter onto Len's shirt. He moved closer to Rin, putting an arm around her to assure her that she was safe. Somehow, her uncertainty began to diminish as though it was absorbed into Len's warm embrace, there was a sudden confidence within her. As she lowered down her view, the picturesque beauty of the green scenery bestow upon her sight. The brilliance of the pastures and forest were enhanced with the azure blue sky.

'...' Rin was awe-struck for a few moments before Len spoke.

'It would be great if we could stay like this.'

Rin nodded. after awhile, she spoke. 'Arigatou, Len.' She felt like thanking him.

'You should thank Teto too, for her innovative mind.'

* * *

'Hah~ today is full of pleasant events...hmm, if only we could have some high quality snacks.' The pigtail haired girl told, imagining different kninds of French bread.

'I saw ''you-definitely-will-love-it French bread'' on advertisement recently.' She added, craving for it.

'I saw ''you-definitely-will-love-it orange'' on television recently.' Rin joined.

'I heard ''you-definitely-will-love-it banana'' on radio recently.' Len commented.

'I saw ''you-definitely-will-love-it apple'' somewhere recently.' Mikuo added.

'I saw ''you-definitely-will-kill-someone cookies'' nowhere recently.' Kiku told.

'Aww, but we don't have the money.' Teto pouted.

'No worries,' Kiku had a devilish expression, 'we always have a sponsor anywhere and anytime.'

'?' Everyone had a questioning look.

'Baka-Sensei's profile include his bank account password and credit card number.' She flashed a grin.

Note: She researched on all the students' and teachers' profiles in the clock tower, remember?

_The devil within her had awaken again...she's definitely someone not to mess-_

WHAM!

'I sensed that you thought bad about me.' She glowered.

Soon, the snacks that they ordered from ''you-definitely'' company had arrived and everyone savoured them.

'Eating oranges after that scary event is definitely deserving.' the yellow haired female commented.

'Let's try ten kilometres high next time.' Teto suggested, racking her brain in mischief.

'No way.'

* * *

At night, there was a knock at the door when Sensei was writing a document. Putting down his pen, he got up and slid open the door.

'This is your bill.' A postman delivered the bill and left. Puzzled, Sensei skimmed at the long bill.

'What?!' When had I ever bought such expensive goods from ''you-definitely'' company?!' He looked at the price and almost ''died''.

'300 million yen?!' A soul came out of his mouth and he fainted.

* * *

Ayano: I almost ''died'' when I write about that Rin-and-Len moment.

Tonikaku, arigatou to otanoshimini.


	12. Chapter 12

7 Pendants

(Day three of the trip, 9:22 p.m.)

In a room, the atmosphere was tense as everyone sat down on the tatami, holding an important discussion. The azure blue haired male had that rare serious expression.

'So you were talking about Tsu...Tsu-what?' Kiku was annoyed at that principal's name.

'Talking about Tsubasa's intention for allowing us to enrol in Shirokuro Academy.' Len replied.

'I suspect he is associated with Sylvette.' Mikuo added.

'!' That statement caught Kiku's attention.

'Then that makes sense,' she told, 'during my research in the clock tower, I overheard his conversation (chapter 8) on a phone about us and a plan.' She added.

'No wonder you told us not to trust him that night (chapter 8).' Rin commented. The crimson haired girl nodded.

'Actually,' Mikuo spoke. 'When everyone were searching for that boy with the Pendant of Manipulation, I spotted Tsubasa near Shiana Hotspring and he was on a phone. Looks like he was contacting Sylvette because I heard him calling her name. The conversation was about us, the seven pendants and those two siblings.'

'Basically, we are involved in a complicated situation,' Rin concluded, having a troubled expression.

'And the outcome of retrieving all seven pendants might be unexpected.' Len suspected.

'Hmm...talking about intentions,' Teto joined, 'actually Neru and Nero don't have any bad intentions.' she told. 'Neru was not affected by my arrow when I shot it through her heart.'

Her statement caught their attention.

'Now that you mention it, I was surprised by that action too,' Rin remembered. 'Why did you do it?'

'The arrow's purpose is to eradicate a person's bad intention, if the intention is too strong, the arrow might even kill him or her.' The pigtailed female explained, getting restless due to the tense atmosphere. She disliked it when she is involved in a cheerless situation.  
_  
I knew it, Neru is not planning anything unpleasant. _Rin thought, relieved that it was confirmed. During their battle together, she did not feel any evil intent from that side-ponytailed female. Instead, there was a hint of sadness from Neru which caused Rin to wonder why.

'We are still going to compete against them for the pendants even if they don't have any devious plan.' Kiku stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

'Ehhhh,' The pigtailed female could not bear the cheerless situation anymore. 'Things will work out somehow, don't worry.' She laid her back against a wall, somehow feeling exhausted. With that, the discussion ended.

'...' The azure blue haired male remained silent, still deep in thoughts. He had an unpleasant feeling about this complicated situation that they were getting into. The thing that he felt the most unease was the fact that he was the one who dragged his friends into such mess (Although it was everyone's willingness to accompany him to this parallel world, he still thinks that he is responsible for it). He did not want them to experience any awful events because of helping him. Instantly, the unease within him grew stronger.

WHAM!

'Stop spacing out, Baka Ookami!' Kiku slashed, hanging a grim expression although she was concerned.

'That hurts...' He touched his forehead cautiously. After some time, he clapped both his palms onto his cheeks twice, trying to be optimistic.

_Just as Teto said, everything will work out somehow!_

* * *

(Day four of the trip, 7:34 a.m.)

At the lobby of a certain sight-seeing tower, Rin stood in front of an escalator and stared hard at it, hesitant to reach to the top of the tower. She wanted to confirm whether she had overcame acrophobia, thus she decided to visit the sight-seeing tower. She lifted her left foot, but put it down immediately, lifted up again and down.

'What in the world are you doing?' A female voice spoke, startling Rin. Turning her head, she realised that a side-ponytailed female was behind and felt astonished by the coincidence. Although Neru had that doesn't-concern-me expression, she was equally surprised. The time was still too early for visitors to visit the tower, thus they were the only ones.

Without warning, a yellow glow shone brightly under a desk, catching their attention. The glow gradually revealed the appearance of a pendant which floated out from its ''hiding place'' and approached them.

_Random events just keep happening one after another. _Rin thought but was fine with it. Both of them knew that in order to obtain the Pendant of Friendship, they had to fulfil the terms and conditions that the pendant requested. While blinking, the pendant decided that Rin and Neru would participate in the game that it had created, instantly sending instructions of the game into their minds.

'!' The yellow haired female felt information gushing into her mind, too bewildered to the point of being speechless. Neru was slightly amused, slowly considering the terms and conditions. After some time, the pendant stopped sending instructions and both participants reviewed it.

Instead of competing against each other, they had to cooperate and collect the hidden cards within an hour. There were a total of three cards hidden in the tower, if the cards are exposed, each of them will produce a mirage. The mirage can either test on their intellect, power ability or teamwork. The participant who performed better will win this game and obtain the Pendant of Friendship.

'...Never knew I would work together with you.' Rin told while smiling. Neru glanced sideway, unsure of how she was going to handle this.

COMMENCE! The pendant signalled in their minds.

They darted forward at the same time, making possible guesses of the places where the cards might be hidden. Time was an essence as they only had one hour to retrieve all three cards. While ascending up the escalator, the side-ponytailed female thought of an area.

'This may sound stupid...' She started speaking, 'that pendant emerged from that desk in the lobby, so maybe one of the cards are placed under a table?' She suggested. Immediately, she regretted saying it since it was a bit illogical. However, Rin considered for awhile and agreed that it was possible.

Proceeding to the third floor, they barged open the door with their legs which labelled ''resting area''. Next, they flipped the glass tables at top speed in search of a card. Outside the tower, people could hear the banging and smashing of glass as though someone was venting his anger.

(A few seconds had passed)

Under one of the tables which they flipped, a shiny piece of ''shard'' was shimmering.

'...'Rin stared hard at it.

The ''shard'' continued shimmering. When she attempted to take it, the gleamering appearance of the ''shard'' disappeared, revealing a card.

'Found it! I didn't expect it to be able to camouflage.' She exclaimed. The card instantly shone twice before producing illusory words on mid air.

Question 1- What do you call a friend who had betrayed you? Hint: Friendship

Both participants sweatdropped.

'W-What is this...' The yellow haired female mumbled to herself.

'So this is a test on intellect.' The side-ponytailed female stated. She actually expected mathematics.

'Want to try to key in ''betrayer''?' Rin suggested, thinking that the word was the most appropriate. After Neru agreed, she typed the answer on the illusory keyboard.

The mirage blinked in red. WRONG.

Both participants sighed, tilting their head a little while continuing thinking.

'...Ah, I got it.' Neru thought of something after awhile. 'Key in ''fiend''.'

'Okay!' Rin typed the word.

The mirage blinked in green. CORRECT.

'Oh? How did you know?' Rin inquired, slightly puzzled.

'By using the hint, break down ''friendship'' into ''friend'' and minus away the ''r''.' Neru explained.

'...I see.' Rin considered for a moment.

the card proceeded to the next and final question.

Question 2- Which transportation vessel is the best in the world? Hint: Friendship

'A ship.' They replied at the same time without hesitation, knowing the pendant's intellect style. After typing the answer, they waited for the mirage to respond.

It blinked in green. CORRECT.

With this, the first card was obtained and they continued their search.

TIME CHECK. 44 MORE MINUTES. The Pendant of Friendship signalled in their minds. While passing the elevator, Rin guessed that one of the cards might be hidden in the gym on the fourth floor.

'That is the closest place related to the test on ''power ability''.' The yellow haired female told, confident that it was hidden there.

'Might as well give it a try.' Neru responded. Once again, they barged opened the door with their legs to enter the gym, ransacking it as though the room was robbed.

After some time, Rin recalled something rather important. 'The surveillance camera will record our actions if we mess up this place.' She informed, having a troubled expression.

The side-ponytailed female hid a devilish grin. 'I already blew those cameras when the game sta-'

'Found it!' Rin exclaimed, eyes gleaming with victory. She found the second card in a magazine. Due to her joy of discovery, she accidentally tore out a page together with it.  
_  
That's fast, _Neru thought.

Without wasting any time, the card shimmered twice while floating on mid air. It teleported them into an illusory world full of nonsensical stuff - cats swimming, fish flying, rabbits running away from carrots, trees walking etc.

Both participants sweatdropped.

'W-What kind of place is this?' The yellow haired female asked herself, feeling awkward. She felt as though they had been thrown into a chaotic world. Instantly, a black sphere appeared a few meters away from them.

YOU HAVE ONE ATTEMPT TO DESTROY THIS SPHERE. The pendant signalled in their minds.  
_  
This pendant is so troublesome, _Neru had an anger mark on her forehead.

Somehow, they became serious, wanting to finish this task as soon as possible and leave the illogical and nonsensical world. As though in sync, each of them created a magic circle on the ground where they were standing, and created another similar one on their right palm. The next moment, Rin's eyes flashed with Pure Electric while Neru's eyes flashed with Dark Electric, they increased the intensity and energy level of the power within the magic circles.

(Ten seconds had passed)

The single-layered magic circle on their palms gradually became triple-layered as they boosted were rapidly. The destruction intensity was increasing at such a fast rate to the point where blitz and sparks began to surround the circle, urging to be released. After some time, Rin could not hold back any longer.

'This...is the maximum.' She told, trying her best to hold back the Pure Electric from bursting forward.

'Same...here.' Neru responded.

Shifting their left leg backwards, they aimed at the sphere before finally shooting. The impact of the bursts was strong, causing them to be pushed back slightly. Both attacks merged together and an illusion of a raven appeared, flapping its wings once to whisked towards the target. It had a piercing gaze while screeching darkly. Upon reaching the sphere, the raven immediately disappeared and a cat emerged. There was an ear-deafening snarl before the paw clashed onto the sphere, it instantly got smashed and electrified into nothingness. The great impact caused the ground to crack deeply and a gush of wind swept the landscape.

With that, they obtained the second card and were teleported back to the tower.

'We might have overdid it just now...' Rin commented.

'No choice, only one attempt.'

TIME CHECK. 21 MORE MINUTES. The pendant signalled in their minds.

Both participants continued on guessing the last possible place where the last card was hidden.

'...Since ''teamwork'' has the word ''tea'', the card might be hidden in a place related to tea...cafeteria?' Neru suggested, trying hard to think of another place.

'Oh!' Rin's eyes sparkled. 'Nice guess.'

Once they reached the cafeteria, they did not have to barge open any door because the glass door automatically slid open. Surprisingly, the card was already floating on air, as though waiting for their arrival.

CATCH IT. The pendant signalled.

.

.

.

''Hah?!' They were puzzled, having questioning looks on their faces. The request was too sudden, but they knew that time was ticking. They exchanged gazes, determined to catch it.

(After fifteen minutes)

The cafeteria seemed to has experienced an earthquake. Plates and bowls were smashed, coffee spilled everywhere, three of the chairs were broken, tables were toppled, a fork was stuck on a picture frame, glass walls were shattered etc.

The yellow haired female panted slightly, gesturing to Neru to carry out the plan which they had just discussed.

TIME CHECK. THREE MORE MINUTES.

Heading towards the card, Rin tried to corner it while Neru used the time to set up a maze and traps.

_You shall perish for being so troublesome, _she thought, holding a grudge on the card. She kicked the tables and chairs to the sides and centre, gradually forming a maze.

TIME CHECK. ONE MORE MINUTE. The pendant continued to press them as though it was enjoying it.

The circumstance was under Rin's calculations as she read the card's movements and was able to drive it into the maze. Once it entered the maze, a bunch of knives ''attacked'' it from the top, followed by forks. The card panicked, dodging to the left and right, somehow managed to avoid being shredded into pieces. Heaving a sigh of relief, the card thought that it was over.

Instantly, choppers were thrown at it at top speed, followed by other utensils, thus its movements were restricted. to restrict. Subsequently, Neru threw a sure-hit knife which skimmed across the air and and hit the card, pinning it on the table. For a split second, Rin swore that she saw a devilish grin on Neru's face although she still hung an emotionless expression.

'Your ''life'' is over once you entered this maze.' Neru told the card in a dark tone.

'...The game is finally over.' Rin heaved a sigh of relief. Immediately, her relieved expression changed into a serious one. _Now is my chance, _she thought, wanting to use the time to ask Neru something. '...' However, she hesitated. _Maybe now is not the time...but, _she could not make up her mind.

_'Neru and Nero don't have any bad intention.' _She suddenly remembered Teto's words.

_Nnghhhh...just give it a go! _She clenched her fist, turning her head to face the side-ponytailed female.

'...Friends...' She got too nervous, started with mumbling, whirls spinning in her eyes.

'?' Neru had a questioning look..

'Eto...' Rin bit her lower lip, somehow panicking as she was unsure of how to continue her question.

Finally, she decided to be straight-forward. 'L-Let's be friends!' She shouted while tightening her eyes, the way she put it was awkward.

As for Neru, she was ''caught off guard'', staring at Rin for a few seconds and was unsure of how to react. Almost immediately, she glanced sideway, trying to keep her composure. Although she showed a neutral expression, Neru was feeling a mixture of happiness and distrust. She was elated and at the same time afraid that she would be betrayed if she agreed.

However, Rin's eyes were so honest and Neru somehow knew that she is not someone who would betray a friend. She opened her mouth, wanting to reply, but close it instantly when she thought twice.

'How naïve. We are rivals.' She finally spoke, hanging a grim expression.

Before anyone could speak further, the Pendant of Friendship appeared, declaring the ''winner''.

* * *

Ayano: Arigatou to otanoshimini.


	13. Chapter 13

7 Pendants

RIN IS THE BETTER PARTICIPANT. The pendant emerged and signalled in their minds.

REASON: RIN ASKED TO BE FRIENDS.

There was silence as both participants sweatdropped. _I lost count of how many times I sweatdropped today, _Neru thought.

'Today is so...full of random events.' Rin mumbled to herself. It was as though the situation was proceeding at the pendant's pace. '...Well, it is the Pendant of Friendship afterall.' She concluded that the it had a happy-go-lucky nature.  
_  
Tch, _the side-ponytailed female was obviously unsatisfied with this, however, she had no choice about it. W_hatever. _She maintained her composure.

'...Since it chose you, then you win this time.' Neru stated, 'but I won't let you have your way next time.'

'My way?' The yellow haired female did not catch what she meant. Looking at Neru's eyes, she realised they displayed determination and there was a faint hint of friendliness.

'I won't lose too.' Rin smiled, exchanging glances with her.

'...' Upon leaving, Neru halted for a few seconds, her back facing Rin.

'Arigatou.' Whispered, she smiled slightly while hiding a sheepish expression. That made Rin grinned even wider because that was the first time Neru smiled at her.

'Hn!'

* * *

(Day four of the trip, 8:34 a.m.)

Back in Shiana Hotspring, everyone were packing their belongings, preparing to head back to Shirokuro Academy.

'Sigh...there is an examination one week later.' The pigtailed female informed in a dull tone.

'Exams should just vanish.' the crimson haired female commented.

'By the way,' the azure blue haired male looked around as though searching for someone. 'Where is Rin?' He inquired.

'She went to the sight-seeing tower one hour ago.' The yellow haired male replied.

'She's long~' Teto commented, 'we are leaving soon.' She finished packing and stood up.

_Let's try this. _Len thought, having that rare teasing expression.

'There are tons of oranges in this room.' He told in an amused tone. Instantly, they heard footsteps rushing towards the room, the sound got louder with every second. Subsequently, the door slided opened. No, it banged opened and a familiar yellow haired girl appeared.

'Where?! Where?!' Rin inspected the whole room, flipped the tables, ''smashed'' open the cupboards, doing whatever she could in search for her beloved oranges.

'This strategy always work.' Len smirked at Rin.

Mikuo sweatdropped, never expected that from Len.

Teto gave him a thumb-up.

Kiku was still planning how to torture Baka-Sensei for arranging examinations.

After several minutes, a certain light pink haired female knocked on their door to inform them to assemble at the rooftop of the sight-seeing tower. When she realised that the room seemed as though it was ransacked, an anger mark appeared on her forehead.

'The owner of this hotspring will not tolerate this,' she told in a matter-of-fact tone. 'Partying also have its limit.' she added, thinking that they had been enjoying themselves excessively last night.

'A...Ahahaha...' Mikuo forced a laugh.

'We had beer too.' Teto joked, having a cat-like smile.

'Anyway,' Mikuo wanted to change the subject, 'looks like we are riding helicopters again.' He told. Although Luka smiled, her eyes indicated that he was wrong.

(Morning, 10:02 a.m.)

Once they were ready, they strolled towards the sight-seeing tower.

'Oh, I almost forgot.' Rin took out the Pendant of Friendship from her skirt pocket and put it on Mikuo's palm. 'I got it in the tower...' she grinned at him, glad that she was able to help. 'A lot happened.' She mumbled on the last three words. Gazing at the pendant, Mikuo tightened his grip then smiled to her.

'Arigatou, Rin.' He appreciated very much.

'Hehe, it's nothing.' She responded with a sheepish smile.

Gradually, he turned his head back to the front and his laid back expression immediately changed. _This unease feeling again...something is definitely strange about the second rumour which Sylvette told. _Narrowing his eyes, he clenched his fist as he could not pinpoint what was wrong about it.

When they reached the rooftop, they saw three objects hovering above them.

'A-A jet aircraft?!' Rin gasped, widening her eyes.

'This academy never fail to surprise me how rich it is.' Len commented.

'U-Uwa...' Teto widened her eyes. The jet aircrafts were so shiny and well polished to the point where she believed that sparkles were everywhere on it, ''Shirokuro Academy'' was also painted on each of the aircrafts. Turning to his right, Mikuo realised that the students were not bewildered at all, having an expression of of-course-we-are-riding-these-back.

'Sensei have important documents that are incomplete, so he need to rush back.' The light pink haired female suddenly appeared behind them, folding her arms while explaining. When everyone boarded the aircrafts, they immediately ascended and left.

'Exams are getting closer,' the azure blue haired male had a depressing aura, having dull purple flames around him.

Kiku remained silent for a while, deep in thoughts. 'Ah, I got it.' she instantly had an idea, the serious aura around her instantly vanished. 'Burn them.' She hanged a evil grin. It seemed that she had been thinking about the examinations all along.

'Oh? You mean burn the examination scripts?' Teto inquired. The crimson haired girl nodded.

'But...' The pigtailed haired female had a doubtful expression, 'where are you going to find the scripts?'

'...' Kiku frowned as she had no idea. 'Fine then, I will burn the whole academy. The papers will definitely get burnt too.' She lifted her left hand while clenching her fist, there were flames of determination around her. Mikuo and Teto facepalmed.

The next moment, all three of them had a depressing aura.

'Exams should just perish.' Kiku concluded.

At the other side of the aircraft, Rin and Len were gazing out of the window. No, only Len opened his eyes while Rin closed hers while facing the window as though she was staring out.

'I can look with my eyes close.' She told in a nervous tone. After some time, she opened her eyes slightly due to Len's encouragement. In an instant, her eyes widened as she was amazed by the scenery.

'It's beautiful right?' Len smiled, glancing at her.

'Hn.' Rin nodded, blushing slightly.

* * *

Stepping onto Shirokuro academy's ground, the students stretched themselves and resumed to chit chatting. Sensei then announced that there would not be any lessons for five days so that they could study for the examinations next week.

'Yosh! Let's work hard for next week!' Rin and Len told in unison, punching their right fists up in the air.

'Oh!' Mikuo and Teto joined while Kiku said it with an uninterested tone.

.

.

.

(First day of studying week)

'Right, I did say I will work hard,' The azure blue haired male had whirls of confusion in his eyes as he laid his back against his chair,' but this is really tough! What kind of questions are these?!' His voice was so loud as though the whole dormitory would shake and collapse anytime. It was the first day and he could not take it anymore.

'W-Well, there are six more days.' Mikuo decided to take a break and skive.

(Second day of studying week)

At the other part of Shirokuro Academy, Teto and Rio were chatting to their hearts' content.

'Hn! Hn! I did that during the festival too,' the braided female stated in a cheerful tone, 'it was so fun...and then...'

When they finally decided to study, both of them went to Rio's room. Two other female classmates also joined them. whenever, they had questions, they would consult each other. Rio seemed to be the smartest among them, frequently being approached, she even got ''Naru-sensei'' as a nickname from Teto.

(Ten seconds had passed)

The pigtailed female stared at mathematical problems and tried to solve it.

(One minute had passed)

Narrowing her eyes, she stared even harder and racked her brain more.

(Another minute had passed)

'...' Her eyes were spinning and Teto felt as though her mind would explode soon.

'Geez,' The pigtailed haired girl sprawled onto the table and placed her head on it. 'Let's rest.'

'It's not even thirty minutes.' The braided female sweatdropped.

(Third day of the studying week)

Kiku was at a deserted area in the academy. She had received a letter of challenge earlier and was amused. Now, she arrived at the venue but no one was there. Just when she thought that it was some kind of prank, she heard a voice.

'Oho! So you arrived first!' A typical male student spinned a metal rod while appearing out of nowhere.

'Heh! Let's just start!' Kiku gained her usual fighting posture.

'Yosh, before that,' He grinned, 'I want to say that I like-'

'I saw that coming, you idiot!' Kiku snapped while sprinting towards him, drawing half of her strength into her right fist and sent an uppercut to his chin. 'Just die.' She shot him a look like a dagger while kicking him up rapidly in the air dozens of times with her right leg. At her last kick, she charged her leg with Pure Flame before sending it.

'GYAA!' That student flew off. 'I only wanted to say that I like fighting!' His voice could barely be heard as he continued to fly far away.

'Why should I care about that?' She scowled. Gradually, a group of delinquents arrived. They seemed to be attracted by the ruckus.

'Tch, another bunch of idiots.' The crimson haired female cracked her knuckles, planning to use them as punching bags to vent her anger.

(Fourth day of the studying week)

The twins decided to visit the academy's library.

'This is our first visit... I wonder how it looks like,' Len stared at a building labelled ''Library'' while pondering.

'That place seemed to be very popular among the students. Rio told me that there are so much books as though any information needed can be found.' Rin commented, heading towards the building.

'Welcome.' Once they stepped into the so-called library, they were immediately greeted by two maids who were standing by the glass door. Instantly, they realised that they were at a maid cafeteria.

'D-Did we enter the wrong place?'

'I think so.' Both of them sweatdropped. Seeing their reactions, one of the maids giggled.

'Over here is just a café corner,' she then pointed to another direction, 'the books are up ahead over there.' She explained while smiling.

After walking straight, they discovered hundreds of bookshelves and several computer labs ahead of them. There were picture frames on the walls, displaying different flower species and other natural feature. On the center, a spiral staircase seemed to be long and endless and a lift was located at a corner.

'Uwa, this library is too huge.' Rin widened her eyes.

'Where should we start?' Len inquired, looking around.

(Fifth day of the studying week)

Mikuo had whirls of confusion in his eyes. He spent the last four days slacking, and only decided to study on the last day. Resting his head on the table, a soul came out from his mouth.

Teto spent the fifth day doodling. 'Worrying or panicking won't solve anything anyway.' She hummed a tune while continuing her little enjoyment.

For Kiku, she spent the fifth day mostly ripping and staring at the revision papers. 'Baka sensei wasted so much papers just to print past years examination papers.'

Rin and Len spent their last day relaxing themselves, they had been exploring the academy for almost an hour and now they find themselves in an entertainment theatre.

'Just now we strolled pass a museum and vivarium...now this.' Rin could not help but be amazed by every building she saw. _Are they even necessary for an academy?_She wondered.

'Tsubasa might as well own the whole estate.' Len told.

.

.

.

.  
Soon, the day of examinations arrived which Mikuo named it as '' It's The End''.

'You may begin!' Sensei announced. The examination hall was so silent that only scribbling could be heard.

_...I know I saw these before._Staring at the script, Mikuo thought hard. He had prepared a four-sided dice with numbers one to four, planning to use it for multiple choice questions. Actually, he and Teto came up with this idea a few days ago.

Rolling the dice, he threw it on the table. Four.

_Yosh! _He had a determined expression.

At the other side of the hall, Teto was also throwing a four-sided dice. _Hehe, I shall try my luck for all multiple choice questions. _She betted. For the structural questions that she was unsure of, Teto doodled French bread (she wanted to convince the examiner that French bread can solve all problems).

At the fifth row, Kiku stared at the questions with uninterested eyes. _Time is always slower during examinations. _She thought, at least attempting to solve the questions.

(Ten minutes had passed)

_Weird, all I can think of are methods of torture...whatever. _She scribbled something down.

At the back of the hall, Rin and Len happened to sit next to each other (it seemed like the teachers could not bear to separate them). The fact that Rin sat beside Len made the fangirls jealous and annoyed, however, the fanboys fought against them by giving cold stares. There seemed to be electric gazes among each fangirl and fanboy. Despite the examination still going on, the twins felt a tense and dark aura given off by them.

Both of them sweatdropped.

* * *

Ayano: After reading this, I felt that this chapter is more of ''slice of life''...


	14. Chapter 14

7 Pendants

(Night, 11:21 p.m.)

In an abandoned building, Neru was struggling to break the magic circles which had bound her wrists and ankles. As minutes passed, her breathing became heavier.

Earlier, they had encountered the Pendant of Obsession which suddenly approached and attacked them, planning to take their lives. At that time, Neru was thinking of Rin's words (something to do with being friends) and was distracted, thus she accidentally got caught by the magic circles and became the host for the pendant. Each second, the circles absorbed her energy and transferred it to the pendant. Hence, the pendant's attack was based on Dark Electric and Nero became its target.

It was the pendant's first time handling Dark Electric, thus the sending of shock waves were off angle and random and Nero had the upper hand. However, as it absorbed more Dark Electric energy from Neru, the attacks' power increased gradually. Somehow, the side-ponytailed female felt irritated and humiliated for being used as a source of power for the pendant. She muttered a few curses. Not wanting to allow her restriction to overwhelm her, she began observing and reading the pendant's movements, cooperating with Nero.

_There must be a pattern, _She thought.

'Being caught easily...that's not like you, Neru.' Nero told, releasing a wide range Dark Electric to counter attack.

'...' She narrowed her eyes and glanced sideway, ignoring him.

After observing the battle for a few minutes, Neru spotted the pendant's fighting and movement style. She smirked. Floating towards a corner, it began glowing with sparks surrounding it.

'It will create two vertical bolts above you.' She warned.

'!' Fatigue immediately hit her.  
_  
Kh, never knew talking can be this tiring. _Neru panted heavier and her vision began to blur, she was pissed at what the Pendant of Obssession did to her.

Streaking to the side, the Mikado yellow haired avoided the bolts and finally completed the spell on the ground. He actually had been preparing it since the beginning of the battle, but was frequently distracted by the bolts and shocks sent by that pendant, thus the procedure had slowed down. Activating a Dark Electric circle, Nero slammed his palm on the ground so that the codes spread uniformly across the cement floor, forming an unusual shape. Soon, the codes glowed in bright purple and sparks began to surround it.

Watching the battle, Neru lifted up the corners of her lip slightly. _That was slow, _she thought, but felt it was a pity that she could not complete the spell with him, thus the impact and power would be halved. The Dark Electric circle gradually expanded, only trapping the Pendant of Obsession on the centre.

Instantly, the building was shrouded in mist and Dark Electric bolts sparked everywhere with deadly destructive power. The pendant seemed to be desperate and confused as it generated shocks and sent them rapidly at all directions. Unfortunately, the attacks were absorbed by the mist and reflected back to it, causing considerable damage.

Wanting to end the battle quickly, the Mikado yellow haired male activated another double layered Dark Electric circle. Immediately, dozens of bolts waltzed in the building at top speed, striking and damaging whatever stuff they encountered. If someone was to stand outside the building and watched, he or she could only see bright purple lines waltzing in a fog threateningly, creating a ''chaos''.

In an instant, the battle was surrounded with a dark and terrifying aura. That was a situation where both Nero and the pendant had a risk of being destroyed to nothingness, it is a dangerous spell. Swerving to the side, Nero was confident to dodge all strikes.

.

.

.

After ten minutes, the abandoned building was destroyed as it collapsed, the mist and bolts vanished subsequently. On the very last minute before it collapsed, the magic circles which bound Neru's wrists and ankles were dispelled due to the pendant's defeat. Thus, she managed to escape first. The collapse produced lots of smoke and dust, shrouding the place.

Recovering herself, the side-ponytailed female laid her back against a barbed wire fence and waited. H_e would not die from this anyway. _She thought, staring at the surroundings.

'I didn't know that fences and walls can move and dwell...' She stated, pressing her right palm against her forehead and shut her eyes. Beside her, a rock fragment was suddenly shoved to one side, revealing a familiar person.

'They don't move at all, it's just that you are feeling dizzy.' Nero smirked, placing the Pendant of Obsession in her palm.

'Now we have three.' He told, gazing at the sky and realised that it was a full moon.

* * *

(Morning, 12:09 a.m.)

Clutching the piece of letter, Kiku burnt it with Pure Flame.

'Curse you for sending this challenge late at night.' She had an expression of don't-piss-me-off. Although the letter of challenge appeared normal, it gave off an aura which made her frowned, thus she decided to accept it.

The crimson haired female arrived at a venue she had went before - the same deserted area in Shirokuro academy(Chapter 13). This time, she did not has to wait as the challenger was already there, sitting on a wooden box beside an old cabin.

'Eh? Kiku?' She recognised the voice behind her. 'Could it be that you received the letter too?' When she turned around, she spotted an azure blue haired male approaching the area, his eyes held a hint of seriousness although he still displayed a laid back attitude. she nodded once in response.

'That's right. I ''invited'' both of you.' The challenger got up from that box, spinning a metal rod. 'By the way, my name is Kuruto.'

'...' Kiku stared at him. 'I think I saw you before...when was it?' She asked herself while recalling. There was a sudden joking mood.

'You forgot?!' The student was shocked, having an expression of what-the-heck?!. 'We only met three days ago! You even punched me when I was not done talking.'

'...' She continued recalling, 'ah, I remembered. You are that annoying person.' She stated in an uninterested tone.

'I was extremely unsatisfied with that defeat.' He gritted his teeth, instantly having a stern expression while clenching his fists.

'So you wanted revenge. I see.' Kiku concluded. The male student ambled towards them and stood under the lamp post, light shining on him. That was when Mikuo realised there were two pendants hanging around his neck. He and Kiku immediately knew that his lust for power attracted the Pendant of Power and Pendant of Destruction to aid him.

'I definitely won't be satisfied just by defeating you, thus I decided to challenge one of your friends too. Hmph, he looked weak.' He added, giving an air of confidence. Narrowing her eyes, Kiku felt like skinning him alive.

Mikuo heaved a sigh of relief. 'It's good that you ''invited'' me instead of Rin, Len or Teto.' He had a calm composure, smiling at him. Without warning, he disappeared behind Kiku and reappeared beside the challenger. 'But you are indeed unlucky to encounter me, especially when there is a full moon.' Mikuo whispered to his ears in a dark tone, eyes penetrating through Kuruto's gaze. There was a moment of silence between them as the challenger was astounded by Mikuo's sudden change in character. The azure blue haired male knew that his dark personality awakened again.  
_  
Heh, dark Mikuo appeared for the second time._Kiku hanged a bloody expression. The next moment, the azure blue haired male returned back to his original position behind her, his dangerous aura had not yet faded.

'L-Let's start, then.' The male student commented, trying to keep his composure. 'Two against one is unfair. Then how about this.' The Pendant of Power glowed strangely and a replica of the exact same Kuruto was created, standing beside the original person.

'However, the real me will challenge against this female.' He told.

'Of course, to you, I'm your opponent. To me, you are just someone who requested early death.' Kiku drew out her cleavers (her character item are two cleavers), sending a menacing glare at him.

Soon, the battle started. Her match was on ground level whereas Mikuo's match was on the rooftop of a building.

(Rooftop, 12:17 a.m.)

Lifting his hand, the replica moved his fingers as though controlling something. Subsequently, a mysterious air of destruction flew towards Mikuo which he easily avoided. The air which flew passed him continued to travel, approaching some metal casings beside a door and explosion occurred when it touched them. The metal casings instantly melted while the door was burnt to ashes, there was a large hole on the ground and smokes and flames were produced.

'I can destroy this building and burn you alive if I want to.' The replica spoke, grinning evilly. 'No doubt that you will be killed if this air caught you.'

Mikuo tilted down his head slightly, allowing his fringes to cast a shadow on his face. 'No worries about this building's destruction. This battle will end soon,' he lifted his head slightly, his eyes startled the replica slightly. 'Since I dislike fighting.' The background around them suddenly darkened as time passed, as though they were plunged into darkness.

(Ground level, 12:26 a.m.)

'!' Kuruto felt a strange feeling welling inside him. _This is...fear? Am I feeling what my replica just felt?  
_  
'Don't look away. You are the one who wanted this challenge.' The crimson haired female swung a cleaver towards his knees. Due to the distraction, the student barely dodged it and he had a slight cut on his right knee, the cleaver continued to fly across the endless ground.

'...' Kuruto focused on the match again, twisting the metal rod to hit Kiku at the stomach. she countered it by using the other cleaver, the clash of weapons produced a ''clang'' sound. Instantly, they heard a swiping sound nearing them.  
_  
_She grinned slightly. _He didn't notice it at all,_She thought.

'!' Kuruto felt an extreme pain on his left knee and noticed an object passed by rapidly. Apparently, the cleaver which Kiku threw initially had made a U-turn and slashed his left leg. Fortunately, his leg was not broken. When the weapon returned to Kiku's hand, Kuruto asked something.

'That person...who is he?' Despite the injury, he was not affected by the pain and loss of blood, still could stand like before. This startled her a bit.

_That pendant must have did something to his leg. _She suspected, staring at the Pendant of Power with suspicious eyes.

'You mean Baka Ookami?' Still hanging a grim expression, the crimson haired female did not cast a glance on Mikuo's match in case Kuruto did a surprise attack on her.

'Heh!' She smirked, 'you are just a mere outsiders, why should I even tell you?' Kiku told in an uninterested tone, flaring Pure Flames around him. 'Even with that pendant, you do not know how to use it properly.' She changed her battle stance, planning to end the battle.

(Rooftop, 01:11a.m.)

The replica had been engulfed by Dark Flames. The wildfire had created total darkness and illusions, this effect only worked on him while the azure blue haired male was the one who manipulated the situation.

Noticing sharp eyes and fangs around him, the replica slammed his fist on the ground in an attempt to destroy the wolves and get out of the darkness, but to no avail.

'It's futile.' Mikuo suddenly appeared beside him and whispered, displaying an evil grin. Due to the vastness of the area, there was an echo of his voice. Frowning, the replica raised his leg and kicked to the side where his opponent appeared, but he immediately vanished. The next moment, Mikuo was directly in front of him, staring through his gaze with piercing eyes full of murderous intent.

'Dead end.' On his last words, a light blue magic circle emerged on the ground where the replica was standing. Gradually, Dark Flames in the form of wolves were summoned as they crunched onto the target, pinning him down.

_W-What are these beasts doing? Why can't I get out of this darkness? Who is this person anyway?! _He felt death creeping closer to him, somehow, he could not draw out the energy to fight despite having the Pendant of Destruction. He seemed to experience a mixture of fear and confusion. Soon, a full moon appeared in the darkness which changed from bright yellow to blood red. In an instant, the replica realised the ''wolves'' which pinned him down fused together, forming a larger wolf with a deadly glare. The next moment, it darted forward, crunching and devouring the target. The ''attack'' released blazes of dark Flames which spreaded across the rooftop.

Gradually, the darkness faded as well as the replica, and Mikuo was the only one left on the rooftop with the Pendant of Destruction on his left palm. In truth, the azure blue haired male had not moved an inch to attack him at all, the replica was just overwhelmed by his Dark Flames illusions.

'...'Staring at the pendant on his palm, he heaved slightly. 'It's finally over.' He seemed to revert back to his usual laid back self, grinning slightly.

_Wolves are wonderful existences._

* * *

(Ground level, 02:18 a.m.)

Previously, Kuruto had managed to extinguish the Pure Flames which surrounded him with the help of the pendant. As time passed, his movements was getting faster and the attacks became stronger. Barely dodging the metal rod, the crimson haired female found him a nuisance as he kept sending all types of physical hits. Annoyed, she flung a cleaver up in the air. Subsequently, Kuruto focused on that cleaver to prevent getting slashed by it again.

'You really fall for that.' Kiku grinned slightly. Actually, that cleaver served as a distraction so that she could strike back. Slanting the other cleaver (this is the first one which she had used to slash his right leg, it is stained with Kuruto's blood), Kiku allowed the blood to drip onto the ground where she was standing. When one drop of blood reached the ground, a crimson magic circle was created. The blood stretched itself towards her opponent and another similar magic circle emerged on the ground where he was stood.

'W-What is this?' He peered down while gasping, thinking it was some form of magic.

'!' He felt another sharp pain on his left shoulder and realised that the flying cleaver thrown initially had landed on him. Subsequently, blood oozed out and spluttered on the magic circle under him.

_Strange...it's hot. _Kuruto searched for ways to escape but he could not move. Pure Flames started to appear from the magic circle, surrounding him. This flame was different from what he saw just now, he felt as though it was alive and urging to burn him to nothingness.

'I shall grant you your worst nightmare.' The crimson haired female gave a icy grin, using the ''first'' cleaver to cut her index finger slightly and allowed her blood to drip onto the magic circle under her. Instantly, the Pure Flame circle which he stood on glowed and the Pure Flames around him gathered, creating huge flames in the form of a fox. It leapt up to the air and charged towards him at top speed, ''devouring'' and flared through Kuruto. In the process, he felt as though the firefox was about to either eat him or burn him alive.

'I-I surrender.' His eyes widened as he was too stunned by the attack, collapsing to the ground and admitting defeat.

.

.

.

.  
After that challenge, Kuruto was badly injured.

'He won't be able to fight for months.' The crimson haired female stated in an I-don't-care tone, retrieving the Pendant of Power.

'...'Mikuo forced a smile, sympathising the challenger's current state.

'Anyway,' Kiku faced him, 'what did you do to defeat that replica?' She inquired as she felt Kuruto fearing Mikuo during her battle.

'Nothing much, only showing him how wonderful wolves are.' He grinned in that usual laid back smile.

'Same. I showed Kuruto how amazing foxes are.'

* * *

Ayano: Arigatou to otanishimini.


	15. Chapter 15

7 Pendants

'Uwa...the results are finally out!' One of the female students exclaimed while pulling her friend along.

'Geez, stop pulling.' Another female protested, 'I'm not done with my emotion preparation.' She told in a nervous tone. The teachers had completed marking the examination scripts and had printed out the results onto a piece of paper, putting on the hallway. As though trying to make the result sheet looked exquisite, the sheet was inserted into a well polished glass cover, there was even a golden frame for it.

When the pigtailed female peered at it, she thrilled with joy.

'I got fourth place out of all fifty students!'

'I see, then I am second.' The azure blue haired male responded, asking Kiku about hers.

'Third.' She answered in a satisfactory tone.

The students who were around them was extremely astounded to discover their way of thinking, staring at them awkwardly.

'...you got the wrong concept,' the yellow haired female sweatdropped. 'The higher the marks is better, and this paper is out of fifty, not fifty students participate in it.'

Mikuo and Teto stared at her in disbelief, speechless. The only condolence Kiku gave herself was that at least she did better than ''Baka Ookami''.

'...Wait a minute,' the yellow haired male sweatdropped. Gradually, Rin realised something too. 'This situation happened before.' They told in unison.

'?' Mikuo, Teto and Kiku had questioning looks, tilting their head.

'Really?' They inquired in unison.

(Note: This happened in Chapter 9)

* * *

(Dormitory, Len's room, 2:45 p.m.)

'Ehhh~? You obtained two pendants in your dreams?' The pigtailed female had an unbelievable expression. Initially, Mikuo told them that he and Kiku got the pendants when it was dawn and Teto misinterpreted it(she did not know they were not sleeping).

'I didn't know pendants appear in dreams,' Teto was thinking about it with an innocent serious expression, deep in thoughts.

'Well,' the azure blue haired male glanced sideway, ' a lot happened.'

'We only showed someone how wonderful foxes and wolves are. As simple as that.' The crimson haired female added. The atmosphere around them was full of ease and peace until a sudden ''voice'' echoed in their minds.

MEET AT THE FOUNTAIN.

'!' Their eyes blinked once in seriousness, attempting to figure out who it was.  
_  
_Rin narrowed her eyes. _This voice is the same as the one in that sight seeing tower, _she thought. Without warning, their four pendants began floating on mid air while glowing strongly and emitting heat. After a few seconds, the four of them vanished.

'...' As though in sync, everyone knew what happened - all seven pendants were retrieved.

(Outside Shirokuro Academy, 3 p.m.)

Ambling along the streets in the city, they searched for ''the fountain''.

.

.

.

'...' Rin stared hard at the endless pathway in front of her. 'We have already walked passes four fountains. At this rate, we are not progressing to anywhere.' She sighed slightly.

'I wonder which fountain we should stop.' Despite saying that, the azure blue haired male was setting his sight on the shops and colourful street lights, somehow attracted to them. This was the first place which they went when they had just arrived to this parallel world.

Instantly, the crimson haired female stopped at a particular spot beside a brick wall. 'This area...' she hanged a devilish grin. 'A child told his mother that wolves bring bad luck right (chapter 6)?' she smirked at Mikuo. His carefree aura immediately changed into a dull and depressing one.

'Why must you remind me...?' He began sulking, puffing his cheeks and glanced at the other direction. For the next few moments, he continued sulking, Teto engrossed herself in the bakery, Kiku was involved in a ''staring contest'' with a delinquent who happened to pass by while Rin and Len were thinking of possible places where ''the fountain'' could be found.

(Five minutes had passed)

'Ah, I got it.' The twins told in unison.

'When we first reached this world,' Rin stated halfway.

'There was a fountain right in front of us.' Len added.

'I see,' Kiku shoved the injured delinquent aside, 'that makes sense.'

'Then let's go!' The pigtailed female were back from the bakery, punching her fist up in the air.

Mikuo pointed to a particular direction. 'If I do not remember wrongly, it is over there.' He seemed to be his usual self again.

'That means you remembered wrongly.' Kiku stated, pointing to the opposite direction. 'It is over there.' Her eyes displayed confidence. When everyone agreed that Mikuo was right, she responded with her usual ''tch''.

He hid a teasing expression. 'Your sense of direction is as bad as ev-'

WHAM! 'I'm cursing you.'

(A sparse meadow beside the city, 4:17 p.m.)

'Yatta~! We finally reached ''the fountain''!' Teto put a hand into the crystal-clear water and swirled it.

'...' The yellow haired male sat on the wall of the fountain, enjoying the light breeze. He seemed to be waiting for something to happen. Rin joined him, swinging her legs to and fro.

_So peaceful and quiet, _Mikuo laid his back against the wall, closing his eyes while clasping both hands behind his head. He would not mind if he remained like this for the whole day. _However, _he thought while opening his eyes which held a hint of seriousness. _There are things I need to confirm and handle..._

At the opposite side of the fountain, two familiar persons showed up.

'Bad morning.' They greeted in an uninterested tone. Somehow, the siblings knew that they would meet Mikuo and his friends there.

'Good morning.' The azure blue haired male greeted in a lightened tone, gesturing a wave.

Grinning, Teto curved her palms and submerged her hands into the water, then shoved them up towards Neru and Nero. 'Good morning!'

Smirking, both of them dodged to one side, thus they were not splashed. Behind them was Kiku, she immediately created a ball of Pure Flames in front of her. The heat was so intense to the point that all the water had evaporated before they even touched the flame. Hence, Kiku was not splashed too.

'...Tch.' The pigtailed female pouted.

After some time, Rin wanted to try something. 'Say, why don't we gather all the seven pendants together?' She was curious about what would happen.

'Well, Sylvette said that a wish will be granted.' Len stated.

'That person does not seem to be trustworthy.' Kiku responded, hanging a serious expression.

Nodding once, Len added, 'in the first place, it was just a rumour.'

'So there might be unexpected consequences.' The yellow haired female sigh at that thought.

'But what if the rumour is true?' Teto inquired.

'Disclaimer.' The ponytailed female instantly spoke.

'We will be taking that wish.' Nero continued.

'Hm!' The crimson haired female glared, 'as if that would happen.' With that, Teto officially commenced that the Yandere-Tsundere staring contest began.

'But,' The pigtailed female frowned slightly, 'why do you want that wish so badly?' She only wanted to help Mikuo and did not want anyone to interfere.

'...' Neru hesitated a little, having a troubled expression. Nero clasped both hands behind his head, turning to his sister. 'Since we had came this far, might as well tell.' He sat on the wall of the fountain which was opposite the twins.

'It is nothing much to you anyway.' The ponytailed female stared at Mikuo, 'We want Haku to be alive again. That's all.' She joined his brother, sitting next to him.

'Haku? Your friend?' Teto inquired. The siblings nodded.

'She is a victim of the first Devoured Night.' Although she told in a grim tone, there was a faint hint of sadness.

'Anyway, let's try Rin's idea.' Mikuo suggested, taking out four pendants - Purification (obtained during Husky incident), Friendship (obtained in sight-seeing tower incident), Destruction and Power (obtained during that challenge incident). Neru took out the remaining three - Freedom (obtained before meeting Mikuo and his friends), Manipulation (obtained during play-tag incident) and Obssession (obtained in the abandoned building).

As soon as they were gathered, a spiral ring of unknown bright codes surrounded each pendant as they floated on mid air.

'...' there was an instant tense atmosphere.

(After a few seconds)

The pendants continued floating.

Everyone continued fixing their gaze.

.

.

.

.  
'Geez,' Teto spoke, the tense atmosphere immediately disappeared. 'Nothing happened.' She had a disappointed tone.

'Nope, something did happened.' A sweet female voice echoed out of nowhere.

'!' Glancing at the landscape, they searched for the source of that voice.

_This tone...where had I heard it before? _Mikuo asked himself while recalling.

'It is her,' Len suddenly stated, 'Sylvette.' The next moment, a sky blue magic circle emerged on the ground and a lady appeared.

'Due to your help, my seal was lifted. Arigatou.' She smiled. It was everyone's first time meeting her. She had long untied black hair with a rose pin pinned at one side, wearing a frilly dark dress with length up to her knees, her boots had ribbon laces. Sylvette gave a general appearance of a pretty and elegant lady.

'...' Narrowing his eyes, the azure blue haired male sensed a suspicious and piercing gaze from her eyes despite her innocent smiling appearance.

'Now,' Sylvette gave an unexpected sly smile, 'have fun in the afterworld.' In an instant, sky blue magic circles emerged on the ground where everyone (except Sylvette) were standing. Before they could react, four magic circles bound their wrists and ankles and a black collar was attached to their neck. Fortunately, due to his alertness, Mikuo escaped from that surprise spell bound on the very last second. Teto was not bound since all Shirotora clansmen would not be affected from a mere restriction spell.

'!' The rest was caught off guard.

'Hoh~? Two escaped.' Sylvette was slightly fascinated. 'Anyway, you really think that the second rumour I told is-'

'How noisy,' the crimson haired female stated in an uninterested tone, cutting her speech. 'At least one thing is confirmed,' she did not attempt to shatter the circles as she felt that her action might backfire like the previous time.

'You are our enemy.' Neru completed, hanging a grim expression. Sylvette raised a brow. 'Oh~? So you are going to eradicate me?' She showed an evil grin, 'for your information, once I activate that black collar around your neck, heads will roll. Get it?' She swifted her side hair to the back with one hand, smiling innocently. 'I can murder you whenever I like.'

'...' The twins was disheartened, not because their life was in Sylvette's hand, but because everyone's effort to retrieve the pendants were done in vain. The outcome was for Sylvette to be released from her seal. _So...she was just using us?_ Len gritted his teeth. He disliked the thought that this kind of person was using Rin.

'That Tsubasa...he is your accomplice?' Rin inquired in a serious tone.

'Heh~? So you noticed.' The black haired female told in a fascinated tone, 'I have no need for accomplice. He is just a mere pawn.'

'Prawn? You eat him?' Teto had a questioning look, misunderstanding her. Everyone (except Mikuo and the twins) sweatdropped and Sylvette did not bother explaining what pawn is.

At the other side, a certain azure blue haired male was deep in thoughts, his dark personality seemed to have emerged as he hid a dark and evil expression.

_Lying to us all this while...you are going to pay for using us to break your seal. _What Mikuo was truly concerned was that all his friends' effort to help him was for nothing and now that their life (except Teto) were in her hands...

_Kill her._ An inner voice echoed in his mind._ Kill that lowlife, low existence. Kill everything about her...Rip...Tear... _A demonic aura grew instantly, revolving around him.

CRACK. The Pendant of Purification shattered to pieces as though overwhelmed by Mikuo's unconscious darkness. It gradually vanished to thin air.

* * *

Ayano: Arigatou to otanoshimini.


	16. Chapter 16

7 Pendants

(Still at the sparse meadow, 4:50 p.m.)

'!'

'It disappeared.' The siblings stated in unison. Then, they felt that the magic circles which were binding their wrists and ankles were not as strong as before.

'What will happen?' The pigtailed female started pondering.

'This world will explode by the next minute.' The crimson haired female betted, hanging a devilish grin.

'As if that would happen.' The ponytailed female commented in a matter-of-fact tone. The next moment, both of them had another ''staring contest''.

'...' The black haired female was astonished as she discovered what happened. _Kuh...better not let the other pendants vanish too. _she thought, hiding her troubled expression.

'Hehe, I'm going to dispel your restriction spell!' Teto lifted up her left hand, her eyes displayed confidence. Instantly, a bright pinkish sphere surrounded her left palm and she swiped it down rapidly. Although the ground did not crack, the still air suddenly swoosh around in a spiral fashion. Subsequently, the codes in the magic circles which bound everyone's wrists and ankles immediately changed. The sky blue magic circles turned bright pink and disappeared totally, as well as the black collar around their neck.

'I have been training.' Teto flicked her index and middle fingers to form a V-shape. Now that his friends were released, Mikuo could activate the Dark Flame spell which he had initially plotted without worrying about the black collar around their neck.

'!' Sylvette felt something brushing across her legs, when she peered down, she noticed two wolves were baring their fangs. The more she stare, the faster she realised that they were Dark Flames in the form of wolves.

_Illusions, I see. _Sylvette attempted slashing them to pieces, however, sparks of Dark Electric in the form of Raven's wings emerged onto the backs of the wolves, allowing them to fly aside and dodge her attack.

_Raven's wings? _Mikuo sensed something was strange because he did not manipulate anything related to wings. _Dark Electric...it can only be Nero or Neru. _He casted a glance on both of them, they responded as though they knew nothing of it and that everything was natural. In truth, the siblings had also planned the same plot as Mikuo and they coincidentally set up their spell on the same ground. Hence, when Mikuo activated the spell, Dark Flame and Dark Electric fused together to form wolves with wings.

'...' The siblings had expected for ravens to appear, however, wolves with wings appeared instead. Although they were equally surprised, they displayed a neutral expression.

'Hm! The disappearance of a pendant will not matter anyway.' The black haired female wondered why she uttered that, probably unconsciously voicing out her unease.

'So how about we shatter the rest of the pendants?' Kiku had a threatening expression.

'!' She narrowed her eyes. _Was it that obvious? _

'We had already noticed,' the yellow haired male told.

'Your magic concentration and power decreased when it vanished.' Rin added.

'That's why,' the crimson haired female's ruby eyes glistened, 'our aim now is to destroy all pendants.' she charged both fists with Pure Flames.

'Tch.' Creating a sky blue magic circle on her left palm, Sylvette planned to summon an illusion. Before it appeared, she realised that her surroundings gradually darkened until everything around her was pitch black. Even her magic circle vanished.

* * *

'Eh?' Teto tilted her head, 'What happened to Mikuo and that lady?' She inquired as the two of them suddenly disappeared.

'Hm! she is not a lady, just a mere bitc-'

'T-The pendants are charging towards us!' Rin warned, cutting Kiku's speech.

Nero lifted up the corners of his lip slightly, 'just in time. We will shatter them to nothingness sooner or later.' He stated. Gradually, the pendants separated from each other and somehow, everyone had their own individual battle.

Rin VS Pendant of Friendship ('I know its weird fighting style.' She grinned.)

Len VS Pendant of Manipulation ('I will handle it.' He told.)

Neru VS Pendant of Obssession ('Time for my revenge.' She shot a look like a dagger.)

Nero VS Pendant of Freedom ('...' He went to battle posture.)

Kiku VS Pendant of Power and Pendant of Destruction ('I will show you what true power and destruction is.' She flashed her usual bloody grin.)

'Then, I will support everyone!' Teto suggested in a cheerful tone, creating a bright pink magic circle on the ground where everyone were standing. Just like before, the wind around her whizzed in a spiral fashion as she closed her eyes and began to enhance their status.

'Uwa...' The yellow haired female instantly felt an increase of power intensity within her and was amazed. 'Arigatou, Teto.'

The ponytailed female was kind of confused. 'Why did you support us too?' She referred to Nero and herself. They were still competing for the pendants a few days ago and even hurt Mikuo's friends, thus she thought there was no reason for Teto to support them too.

'That is natural,' the pigtailed female beamed, 'we are friends now!' Her eyes sparkled.

_Don't decide things on your own. _The siblings thought in unison. Still, they were grateful for it.

When everyone split to focus on their individual battle, Teto secretly linked ''Injury and Pain Transfer'' on them, including herself. _Hehe, this is the most I can help. _She thought while smiling, silently wishing good luck.

* * *

(Canyon, 5:02 p.m.)

Somehow, Len's surroundings changed when the pendant glowed and he found himself at a canyon. Immediately, dozens of the pendant appeared and floated on mid air, surrounding him.

_Illusions...I see. _Drawing out Pure Electric on his right palm, he started searching for a distinct shadow among them. If one of the pendants had a shadow, that would distinguish between illusions and the real one.

_Over here! _It was not long before he found it, sending a direct Pure Electric shot to the target. Due to the extra boost from Teto, the accuracy increased and it was a direct hit. The real pendant continued to be electrified. However, it instantly plunged to the ground so that the electricity travelled downwards to the earth and the attack is nullified. Hence, the paralysis effect was cancelled out no matter how much Pure Electric passed through it.

'Heh, not bad.' The yellow haired male swiped his hand sideway to end his prolonged attack. _However, I already discovered other methods to counter against that weakness. _He changed his battle posture and sudden shockwaves roused in the atmosphere threateningly.

Without warning, his surroundings kept changing in randomness (including landscape and life existences). For example, nonsensical stuffs started to appear and vanish every few seconds interval, the weather condition also changes from time to time every few minutes interval, assault from zombies etc. In other words, Len was caught into a chaotic world manipulated by the pendant from the very beginning when the battle started.

'Oh, interesting.' Len commented in a fascinated tone. Shockwaves waltzed their way towards the pendant.

(Sparse meadow, 5:10 p.m.)

Rin had not moved an inch from the fountain, still sitting on the wall.

_This pendant will send ''game'' instructions at any moment now. _She thought while staring at the Pendant of Friendship, feeling a bit tense.

'!' Instantly, fresh information rushed into her mind with lightning speed, startling her even though she had prepared for it. While the instructions were still being sent, Rin closed her eyes to consider them.

Instruction: Firstly, there was no venue for that ''game'', thus it could be conducted anywhere. Secondly, there were a total of two rounds which Rin would be participating, she would be tested on intellectual, power ability and agility. Lastly, if Rin passed both rounds, the Pendant of Friendship will shatter, if she failed one or both rounds, her friends (including herself) will receive a ''punishment''.

_...''Punishment''? _She wondered what that would be. However, she had nothing to worry about. _All I have to do is to pass both rounds! Yosh! _

With that, the pendant glowed, commencing the start of the ''game''. The next moment, a string of digital words appeared on mid air while floating.

**Story: Person Z went into a restaurant to buy french fries. He told the worker ''I want French fries without fries''. After buying the item, Person Z went out of the restaurant and met a sheep. The sheep told him ''I want to marry this French fries without fries'', thus Person Z gave French fries without fries to the sheep. And everyone lived happily ever after.**

End of story.

The yellow haired female fell to the ground. 'W-What kind of story is this?!' She stunned by the pendant's randomness. 'This pendant's intellect is as random as ever...' she heaved slightly while sweatdropping. Soon, another string of digital words appeared.

**Question: What is produced when the sheep marry with French fries without fries?  
**.

.

.

.  
'How am I suppose to know that?' Rin facepalmed. No doubt that the intellectual test had raised its level much higher than the previous one (chapter 12).

_Ngk, there must be clues somewhere. _She pondered hard, racking her brain. _French fries without fries...if I look at it at a different perspective, ''French fries'' minus ''fries'' will give me ''French''. Hm, so Person Z bought ''French'' and gave it to the sheep. _Although the last sentence did not make any logic at all, Rin decided to go along with it. _''French'' marry sheep...if I add ''French'' with sheep, I will get Frenchsheep. Doesn't it sounds like ''friendship''?_

'Oh! I get it!' Her eyes widened with delight. Keying the answer ''Friendship'' into the programme, she waited for it to respond. Subsequently, the mirage processed the answer.

CORRECT. It blinked in green.

'Yosh, the second round.' Rin's eyes displayed determination.

(Sky, 5:19 p.m.)

In the feral grey sky, Nero and Neru had decided to cooperate with each other, planning to break the two pendants with teamwork. Pendant of Freedom had already shattered partially while Pendant of Obsession was still unscathed. There were several lightning flashes and thunder, indicating that a storm was brewing near.

'This weather condition is even better.' Dodging a beam blast, the Mikado yellow haired male commented in a satisfied tone.

'We will have the advantage.' The side-ponytailed female added in a grim tone. The next moment, as though in sync, each of them created a Dark Electric magic circle on mid air where they were standing. Gradually, both magic circles expanded a few metres across the sky and blazes of Dark Electric urged itself to be released. The atmosphere suddenly increased in electricity intensity.

'!' The Pendant of Obsession seemed to recognise this spell (Nero used it in Chapter 14), creating a barrier around itself for protection. Although the Pendant of Freedom knew nothing about the danger of this spell, it activated a layer of nullification field to cancel out the spell's effect.

'That will not work again.' Instantly, a double layered dark purple magic circle positioned itself in a way so that the nullification field was trapped in between. Nero focused on suppressing it while Neru focused on supporting the strength. Due to Teto's boost, the nullification field was broken with slight effort. Subsequently, the double layered magic circle vanished.

'...' The siblings were amazed that it was shattered this quickly because the first time they attempted, it took them almost fifteen minutes and half of their energy were used up.

'That girl is really something.' Nero commented, referring to Teto.

'Let's not waste her effort.' Flashing their eyes with Dark Electric, they slammed their palms on the Dark Electric magic circles which they had been standing on, finally activating the spell. While glowing, Dark Electric codes started to spread uniformly, forming an unusual shape. However, the Pendant of Obsession recognised that shape because it had seen it in that abandoned building (Chapter 14).

Shrouding the sky, mist was formed which caused their vision to be blurred. Both pendants could only spot their Dark Electrified eyes blazing brightly as though warning them that they would be shocked to nothingness. Gradually, Dark Electric shocks sparked everywhere, as time went by, dozens of bolts waltzed at top speed while damaging whatever stuff they encountered. A dark and horrifying aura surrounded the battleground and the thunder seemed to be louder than usual. If someone was to stand on the meadow and gazed at that particular part of the sky, he or she would notice bright purple lines whizzing rapidly at any direction.

The spell was already dangerous enough as all existences within that area had a risk of being destroyed, however, the stormy weather enhanced the risk level considerably.

'If you die, I will not forgive you.' The side-ponytailed female told her brother, displaying her usual stern expression.

'Heh, you worry too much, Neru.'

Their aim was to dodge the bolts until the spell ended and allow those bolts destroy the pendants.

(Fifteen minutes had passed)

Signalling the end of the spell, the mist vanished and their vision became clearer. Apparently, the Pendant of Freedom had shattered during that fifteen minutes while the Pendant of Obsession was partially shattered, it managed to survive. The siblings' eyes no longer flashed with Dark Electric.

* * *

(Dark illusionary world, 5:47 p.m.)

'Hoh~, aren't you just buying them time to destroy the pendants?' Sylvette commented, hanging a sly expression.

'...' The azure blue haired male had no intention of replying, still giving an aura that would make anyone think twice about approaching him. Displaying a sly smile, the dark haired female thought of an idea.

'Devoured Night occurred because of me. Just like Tsubasa, those Deadless are also my pawns. Only two things will happen if all pendants perished - firstly, all Deadless will be eradicated from Excalique World for-e-ver.' She told. Widening his eyes, Mikuo realised something.

'Heh~, so you realised it. Not bad. Yes, the next predicted Devoured Night will never happen.' She grinned. 'See? It is not totally hopeless or pointless...however,' she had a wicked smile, 'all victims of the first Devoured Night can never be revived.'

'Lastly, all my powers will be gone. Well, it seems that you and your so-called friends had already knew this fact when the Pendant of Purification shattered. Of course, I will not do nothing about the destruction of the pendants.' She continued, instantly having a stern expression. 'Say, let's have a death match.'

* * *

Ayano: Arigatou to otanoshimini.


	17. Chapter 17

7 Pendants

(Desert, 5:47 p.m.)

'Devoured Night occurred because of me. Just like Tsubasa, those Deadless are my pawns.'

'!' Len was astonished to hear Sylvette's voice, halting his movement for awhile. It was not long before he discovered that the voice came from the pendant. The zombies used the ''caught-off-guard'' moment to attack him, this was their first time managing to land an attack on him. However, Len did not feel any pain at all and there was no wound.

_Could this be one of Teto's doing? _He thought, striking back at the opponents.

(Sparse meadow, 5:49 p.m.)

'If all pendants perish, all Deadless will perish too.' Just when Rin was still handling her second round of the ''game'', she felt as though the pendant of Friendship was talking to her. However, she recognised that it was Sylvette's voice.

(Sky, 5:49 p.m.)

'Heh~ so you realised it. Not bad. Yes, the next predicted Devoured Night will never happen.' Neru and Nero were equally startled by the voice which suddenly echoed throughout the battlefield, seizing their attacks for awhile. The Pendant of Obsession seemed to seized its offense as it was currently ''announcing'' what Sylvette had spoke. There was one thing which the siblings wanted to know...

'See, it is not totally hopeless or pointless. However...' They narrowed their eyes as they continued listening, 'all victims of the first Devoured Night can never be revived.'

Taboo.

Widening her eyes, Neru gasped silently. For her, the time had frozen as her mind absorbed the ruthless information that was just told, refusing to believe that she would not be able to meet Haku again. Still, she tried to keep her composure.

'Kh!' Neru gritted her teeth while tilting her head downwards, allowing her fringes to cast a shadow on her face. Glancing to his right, Nero had a concerned expression as he stared at her. It is true that he cared about Haku, but his sister is priority.

(Protected area, 5:01 p.m.)

'Of course, I won't do nothing about the destruction of the pendants.' Kiku increased her alertness while dodging another laser wave.

'Say, let's have a death match.'

'!' _That Baka Onna wants a death match with Baka Ookami? _She thought, at the same time activating a crimson magic circle. Gradually, Pure Flames emerged from it and spread across the ground like wildfire.

_Heh! I chose this place for a reason._ Her battleground was in a protected area surrounded with barbed wired fences and there was a wooden rooftop, the front gate had a ''DO NOT ENTER' sign. The region was tightly enclosed, thus no one could escape (somehow, they managed to enter).

Soon, the wildfire formed a ring shape around the protected region, slowly ''devouring'' the barbed wired fences. The next moment, the Pendant of Destruction caused the air near the rooftop to swirl in circular fashion, gradually creating a human illusion. The Pendant of Power enhanced the ''human's'' destructive strength and speed.

''His'' eyes showed consciousness as though ''he'' had his own will, ''he'' then swooped down instantly and landed to the ground skilfully with a big crash, causing a rumble and a gust of wind. The ground cracked quite deeply, forming minor holes and rocks scattered all over.

Apparently, both pendants attempted to create a rumble so that the sand and mud had sufficient reaction force to be thrown up and cover the flames. Unfortunately, not only did their plan failed, it backfired - the Pure Flames grew larger due to the strong wind. Whatever stuff which the flame touched immediately turned to ashes. By now, the fences were already burnt to ashes, as time went passed, the ring of flames approached closer. Hence, even without the fences trapping them inside, all three occupants were still trapped by the Pure Flames, exactly what Kiku wanted.

'...I have no idea what that rumble was for, anyway, that does not matter.' She told in an uninterested tone. The only difference she noticed was that the ground became uneven and the Pure Flames grew larger and more powerful. That was all.

With eyes flashing with Pure Flames, Kiku made slight gestures, causing the ring of Pure Flames to instantly transformed into a fox. Without warning, the firefox darted towards the centre where both pendants were floating, trails of Pure Flames were produced when it darted, burning away the grasses. The protected region which was originally full of rare ornamental plants and rocks had now been engulfed by wildfire and it was full of ashes and dead plants.

'!' Both pendants managed to dodge, controlling the human illusion to counterattack with the firefox. She generated another Pure Flame magic circle on the ground where the ''human'' was standing and chains emerged from it, pinning ''him'' down to the ground.

IT IS FUTILE. The Pendant of Power signalled in her mind, attaching itself onto the ''human's'' right wrist while the Pendant of Destruction attached itself onto ''his'' right wrist. With slight effort, the ''human'' broke the chains forcefully by raising both ''his'' arms. In an instant, the Pure Flame circle glowed.

The crimson haired female smirked. 'You fell flat for that.' Actually, the chains were a seal in disguise, once broken, the demonic power within the firefox would awaken, activating a spell.

'!' The illusion human felt the ground under him trembling slightly. Without warning, enormous amount of Pure Flames burst through him, burst through the wooden rooftop and proceeded flaring its way to the sky. Of course, that kind of burn and immense heat would not destroy ''him'' yet and the firefox knew this fact. It sprinted towards the target at top speed. Before the ''human'' could react, it ripped and crunched ''his'' limbs apart from the body and blood splurted onto the firefox's face.

''He'' decided to fight back but there was no opportunity due to the firefox's sudden surge in agility as well as malice - it had deadly bright red eyes which displayed murderous intent. Doing a somersault, the firefox slashed ''his'' neck with its tail, causing his head to drop. It was not long before the ''human'' was torn to shreds, ''his'' organs were scattered everywhere and blood stained the area.

Growling, the firefox held the two pendants under its fangs.

'You will shatter any moment now.' Kiku, who was all along watching by the side, told in an amused tone.

(Desert ,5:01 p.m.)

Len had been having a tough time dealing with the Pendant of Manipulation due to the frequent appearing and vanishing of objects which disrupted him to travel around or attack.

Example: Generating Pure Electric on one hand, he finished off a moaning zombie with just a mere uppercut.

_They are weak but annoying. _Now that the last opponent was gone, Len casted a glance on the pendant and immediately striked a pure Electric blaze towards it, boosting its energy content to destroy the target once and for all. He hoped that objects would not start appearing suddenly which would interfere that attack. Unfortunately, at the exact same moment, concrete walls emerged from the ground.

'Tch, it happened again.' The blaze shot through the walls, creating holes on the middle. As though luck was on the pendant's side, a black hole immediately appeared out of nowhere, absorbing that attack, thus it vanished completely.

'You seriously pisses me off...' The yellow haired male had a rare irritated expression. It was a pity, because if that black hole appeared one second later, the pendant would have been blasted to nothingness.

(End of example)

Now, in the desert, the temperature was dropping as night was nearing.

_Ah, I see. _Len seemed to has finally thought of an idea to end this chaotic battle. Just when he was about to carry the plan, he instantly felt a familiar presence in this world which he was in, there was also another dangerous presence.

_...How did Rin enter? _The yellow haired male wondered, deciding to change the plan since it would harm Rin too. The pendant was astonished to discover their existences in the chaotic world it created. Due to the sudden forceful intervention, the scenery and surrounding changed instantly. This time, everyone were deep under water, there were no other living existences other than the four of them - Len, Rin, Pendant of Manipulation and a headless monster. Furthermore, they seemed to be able to breathe normally.

_Perfect chance! _Flashing their eyes with Pure Electric, the twins thought at the exact same time.

Note: Rin still did not know that Len was in this world.

In the first place, the yellow haired female had no idea how she got into a desert, and now she was in deep water. Despite the confusion, she prioritised on defeating the monster which was part of her ''game's'' second round. For her second match, the Pendant of Friendship randomly created a headless monster to test on her agility and power ability, thus physical attacks would not work on it.

From previous experiences, Rin realised that the opponent's movements were fastest in air and on land, it would be almost impossible to land an attack on it. However, its movements slowed down considerably when in water.

_After destroying you, I will finally clear the ''game'' and destroy the Pendant of Friendship! _Her eyes displayed determination.

Lifting up her right arm, she created a bright yellow magic circle near her palm and charged its intensity to the maximum, planning to finish that monster in one blow. Gradually, the water around her twirled rapidly in a spiral fashion as she increased the concentration.

'!' The surge in energy was too overwhelming due to Teto's boost, thus Rin's arm started straining back and Pure Electric sparked on her arms. The yellow haired female was taken aback, not by the overwhelming power, it was because she felt painless when her arm experienced the electrical effect.

_Normally it would be paralysed. _She thought, but knew that she had no time to worry about it now. Narrowing her eyes, Rin pushed the concern at the back of her mind and focused on the battle. Due to the monster's slow movements, she had the upper hand now. When she finally released that overwhelming blast, she only spotted bright light zooming towards the target in less than one second and an explosion occurred subsequently. That blast was extremely effective since water is a good conductor of electricity. Of course, Rin was also ''affected'' by that Pure Electric since she was in water too (she decided to take the risk since it was an opportunity to defeat that monster), there were sparks all over her body.

'...' Rin was silent for awhile. _No pain or injury again..._

ROUND TWO, CLEARED. The Pendant of Friendship signalled in her mind.

(5:15 p.m.)

At the other side of the deep water, the Pendant of Manipulation was on the verge of shattering.

Reason number one: It was initially trapped in a landmine setup by Len, being attacked continuously by the Pure electric ''bombs''. When it landed onto the wrong part of the seabed, a bright yellow magic circle would emerge, followed by a burst of Pure Electric. He set up in a way so that the electrons would only attack the one who reached that particular ''hidden spot'', thus the electrons would not travel to other parts of the water. Currently, both of them were still standing on the landmine.

Reason number two: When Rin released that Pure Electric blast, the electrons flowed to this area too. Len sensed the sudden approach of electrons, thus he managed to activate a barrier for defence while the pendant was unaware of it, hence it was electrocuted.

'I'm ending this.' The yellow haired male stated. Instantly, an air of ferocity roused around him and the water current got pushed back forcefully, creating a narrow path between himself and the pendant. There was no longer any water flowing on that seabed or any obstacles. Swiping his hand to the side, Len allowed all the ''hidden spots'' in the landmine to activate, causing Pure Electric to burst out from them. Those prolonged bursts surrounded the narrow path, hence, no one could step out of the narrow path, if they do, they would be ashes by the next second.

Gathering electrons on both palms, he charged it tremendously, causing the air to be electrified in the process. The Pendant of Manipulation knew that it could not escape at all, hence, it had no choice but to receive whatever attack Len was sending. However, it refused to admit defeat, desperately creating illusions to counter against him. The monsters then rushed forward towards the target, planning to rip him to shreds.

The next moment, he fused the electrons together and slammed both palms on the ground, the Pure Electric blazed forward, mercilessly eradicating the illusions and spurted straight for the pendant.

(Sky, 5:01 p.m.)

'Since it has come to this,' the ponytailed female mumbled in a dark tone, 'then prepare yourself.' She glared at the Pendant of Obsession with deadly eyes. Once again, the siblings' eyes flashed with Dark Electric, they lifted their right hand towards the feral grey sky and began summoning something from it. Without warning, the surroundings darkened tremendously and several bright purple lightning striked down on the battlefield, causing Dark Electric in the form of ravens to descend.

Circling around the area, the ravens did continuous attacking. Whenever they opened their beaks, a magic circle would appear a few distance in front of their beak and bolts would waltzed towards their target (Pendant of Obsession). Next, both of them generated Dark Electric on mid air, changing its from to create two blazing scythes.

'...' Neru grabbed one of the scythes with her left hand while Nero grabbed the other with his right hand, they displayed different battle posture. Swerving to one side, she held the weapon downwards while he darted to a particular direction, swinging it up in the air. There was totally no opening for the pendant to sneak a surprise attack or elude away.

First reason: If it travelled to the sides (out of the battlefield), it would definitely be minced by the ravens.

Second reason: If it attempted to ascend, there was a high possibility that Dark electric lightning would strike on it.

Third reason: It dared not descend down to the ground because this action would present an opening for the siblings to attack.

Basically, it seemed as though the whole battlefield became the siblings' territory. Feeling cornered, the pendant blinked twice before releasing a wide range energy wave.

'We already know your fighting style.' Doing a backflip, Nero dodged the attack and was currently above the pendant while Neru dodged by descending under the pendant, still hanging that grim expression. The energy wave proceeded to zoom across the battlefield, approaching the Dark Electric ravens, instantly eliminating them and continued reaching further out across the sky. A flock of birds happened to fly near, they experienced a gust of wave breezing passed their bodies. Immediately, their wings were ripped apart as they gradually fell to the ground.

Gripping onto the handle tighter, the side-ponytailed female bent her knees and leapt up to approach the pendant while the Mikado yellow haired male raised the scythe, reaching downwards towards it. The next exact moment, he swung the weapon down with brutal force while she slashed it up. When they travelled passed each other, they exchanged glances.

As expected, the pendant did not shatter from those slashes. For the next few instances, the siblings backed each other up while attacking the opponent in all kinds of direction. When he assaulted from the left, she would assault from the right, when he assault from above, she would assault from below. Hence, they did this continuously, making sure that their hits were sure-kill.

_Just die already._ Swiping the scythe in clockwise direction and hitting it, Neru cursed. She already started venting out her anger which had been boiling within her.

_In the end, Sylvette was just using us? _She referred to Nero and herself. _All our efforts were for nothing if Haku cannot be saved..._

'Kh!' She slashed the pendant hard from the left, and then again from the right, repeating this cycle while tilting her head down which casted a shadow on her face. By now, she was the only one who was sending attacks to the target.

There was no opportunity for the pendant to escape or counterattack as Neru completely foresaw its movement patterns. In its point of view, the side-ponytailed female in front of it had became a malicious existence and it regretted challenging against her. It had no choice but to keep receiving her merciless attacks.

'Tears are for idiots.' A voice whispered beside her ears. Although they sounded harsh, the tone was gentle.

'!' Turning to the left, Neru sensed a familiar presence beside her.

'That was what you told me when we were young, didn't you?' Nero had a teasing expression. For that moment where she kept slashing the pendant, she thought that she was alone. Hearing his voice, her eyes widened slightly as though her senses were brought back. Her movements also froze for awhile.

Since she stopped assaulting, the Pendant of obsession decided to use the rare opportunity to pay back as it began charging its energy content and power.

'...Ne...ro.' Lowering her scythe, she unconsciously called out his name. 'Sorry.' somehow, she felt that it was best to apologise to him as she had no idea how to react such circumstances. Watching his sister's reaction, he could not help but smirk slightly.

'That was unnecessary.'

'I forgot not to lost my composure.' She told, narrowing her eyes while glancing to the side, hoping that her tears were gone by now.

Grasping onto their weapons' handles tighter, they lifted it to their waist level, displaying a different battle stance. There was an aura of determination around them as they fused and combined all their Dark Electric energy and power into the ''sickle-part'' of their scythes, planning to finish this with the final blow. In that charging process, the scythes blazed even brighter and high voltage was produced, sparks scattering across the battlefield.

When the pendant finally released the enormous laser beam, the siblings sprinted forward at the exact same time, facing the beam head-on. Noticing that they were about one metre away from the attack, Neru swiped the weapon upwards from below while Nero swung it down from above.

The impact caused light to emerge, followed by a deafening explosion.

* * *

In an illusory region where darkness lurched everywhere, a certain azure blue haired male and dark haired female were exchanging physical attacks. Their movements were so fast to the point where trails of Dark Flames and bright unknown silvery flames were produced every time they bolted towards each other. They had been sparing with one another for the pass thirty minutes, yet none of them was able to even cause a minor injury to the other party.

'You sure have nice pair of bloodshot eyes when you fight seriously.' Sylvette commented, still hanging a sly expression.

'...' Fusing Dark Flames in the air, Mikuo created Dark Flames in the form of claws just slightly above his right hand. He had no intention of replying her, only interested in finishing her off and end the battle. Raising that hand, he charged that claw and slashed it towards her. She countered by sending a fist full of bright silvery flames, the impact caused the ground between them to crack deeply. As expected, neither she nor he was harmed.

By now, Mikuo had realised that Teto had been supporting him as he could recognise her method of magical support. However, there was one thing which concerned him. _Why didn't I feel any pain when her flames reached me? _He pondered, having an unpleasant feeling about this. to him, that kind of attack was not strong enough to injure him but at least pain would be inflicted.

Creating a huge silver magic circle near her palm, Sylvette summoned out almost all of her flames and sent them flaring towards her opponent. The azure blue haired male did the same, activating a sky blue magic circle, increasing its intensity before shooting out Dark Flames. The outburst of flames from both directions clashed strongly, opposing each other as they struggled to push back the other party's attack.

When Mikuo and Sylvette attempted to increase their attacks' power, the respective flames blazed even greater, suppressing each other with more force. In the process, a gust of wind swept the area and both of them were pushed back slightly as their footwear scratched the ground. It seemed that they were on par with each other in terms of power and energy level.

Once Mikuo's eyes flashed with Dark Flame, his attack's destruction level surged drastically and the outburst of Dark Flames fused together, forming a wolf. The next second, her silvery flames were completely overpowered and the ''wolf'' gushed forward towards the enemy. Subsequently, an explosion occured which produced smokes, thus he could not see whether she was injured.

'!' Sensing quick air movements above him, the azure blue haired male smirked slightly while swerving to one side, dodging a flying kick.

'Tch.' The dark haired female landed on the ground swiftly. Regaining their battle posture, they exchanged spiteful gazes before charging their palms with their respective flames. No doubt about it, it was finally going to be their final clash with each other as they summoned out every little power within them and transferred it to their flames.

As though in sync, they spurted towards each other on the exact time, bracing for a last powerful attack.

CRACK. Outside this illusory world which was created by Mikuo, the rest of the five pendants shattered at the same time (Pendant of purification had already shattered, then followed by Pendant of Freedom).

At the very last moment before Sylvette was about to send the final blow, all her powers were gone.

* * *

Ayano: Next chapter will be the final one. Yonde kurete arigatou.


	18. Chapter 18

7 Pendants

(A sparse meadow beside the city, 6:20 p.m.)

Under a tree, a certain pigtail haired female was still sitting on the center of a light pinkish magic circle, closing her eyes while supporting her friends. When she realised that the battle was over (knew it instinctively), the magic circle on the ground shrank and gradually vanished, indicating that she had stopped supporting. Opening her eyes, Teto lifted her head up to gaze at the sky while taking a deep breath.

'Hahh~' She felt ecstatic and relief, stretching her arms up to the air. However, her facial expression disheartened slightly when she remembered something,

_That spell will activate on me any time now..._

'Teto!' A cheerful voice called out.

'!' Two hands suddenly tapped on her shoulders, startling her. When she turned her head behind, Rin was grinning away while Len sat down beside her, enjoying the cool breeze.

'Hehe, you didn't notice us.' Rin told while smirking. Her comment made Teto pout.

After a long silence, the yellow haired female spoke. 'It is all over already...right?'

'Probably.' Len was unsure.

'So we can go back to Excalique World now?' The pigtailed female inquired.

'...' Remaining silent, he went deep in thoughts. He had wanted to ask Teto something and now seemed to be a good opportunity (something related to not having any pain or injuries during battle).

'Uo, Neru and Nero are back!' Teto beamed upon seeing them, waving a hand.

_Well, maybe I should ask later. _Len thought, clasping both hands behind his head.

'Good work.' Rin told while smiling.

'Hm! Don't act as though we are friends.' The side-ponytail haired female stated, glancing to the side.

'Now, now. Don't need to be shy.' Teto had a teasing expression. Meanwhile, Nero was laying his back against the tree trunk, allowing his mind to wonder.

'This place has become rather crowded.' A crimson haired female showed up, putting away her cleavers. 'Good work, Kiku.' Rin told. She responded with a slight smile.

'Oh, everyone is gathering.' Teto commented. _This kind of amicable feeling is so warm, _she thought, liking the fact that she is surrounded with friends.

'I'm back.' A familiar laid back voice was heard, catching everyone's attention. Turning their head behind, their eyes widened when they noticed the scene in front of them - Mikuo was carrying an unconscious dark haired female on his arms. The sight of Sylvette caused Kiku, Neru and Nero to sharpened their eyes.

'Explain yourself, Baka Ookami.' The crimson haired female took out one of her cleavers as she continued to glare at that female.

'She is alive right?' Rin inquired.

'Hn.' The azure blue haired male nodded, then faced Kiku. 'As for explanation...well,' he thought for a while before continuing speaking, ' she lost her powers to fight so killing her seemed pointless to me.' He told as though it was natural for him to do so.

'I do not want to murder anyone anyway.' He displayed that usual carefree smile.

Somehow, Len expected his explanation. The others (except Kiku) sweatdropped.

SLASH.

'!' Mikuo touched his head gently, 'What was that for?' He stared at Kiku and had an accused expression.

'I felt like it.' An anger mark appeared on Kiku's forehead.

'Nng...' Sylvette twitched her eyes, showing signs of wakening.

'Uo, s-she's waking.' Teto felt kind of nervous. when Sylvette opened her eyes, she had the biggest shock out of her life.

'W-What the...' The sudden sight of Mikuo and his friends made her confused. Immediately,she recalled what happened before she passed out.

* * *

(Start of recall, **Sylvette's POV**)

I approached Mikuo at full force, planning to rip the life out of him...however, at the very last moment before I sent the attack, all my powers were gone.

'!' Halting my movement, I widened my eyes as I was too stunned, absolutely refusing to believe that the rest of the pendants shattered at a crucial time like that.

'Kh!' Instinctively, I defended myself against his upcoming attack by lifting my right arm towards my face. Tightening my eyes, I knew that there was no time to evade, thus I had to endure whatever strike Mikuo sent.

However, I did not feel any extreme heat gushed through my body,only a sudden slight pain on my neck.

Before I realised it, I became unconscious.

(End of the recall)

* * *

The dark haired female gritted her teeth, feeling humiliated.

'Why didn't you kill me?' She mumbled, tilting her head downwards to allow shadow to cast on her face.

Mikuo hanged a questioning look. 'Why do you want to be dead?'

'...This person...' Sylvette was shuddering with frustration, confused by Mikuo's sudden change in character. 'What are you? A hypocrite?' She began to snap, 'you even had those eyes full of murderous intent when we fought.'

_Hypocrite...hypocrite..._The word kept echoing in his mind, causing him to feel as though several knives had stabbed through his heart. 'So you think I am someone like that.' He faced sideway and began sulking.

'He is no hypocrite,' Kiku commented, glaring at her. Hearing this, the azure blue haired male felt kind of touched.

'He is Baka ookami.' The crimson haired female added in a firm tone. Instantly, the light aura around Mikuo darkened and he displayed a shocked expression. The rest sweatdropped except Teto, she seemed to be in pain.

_So, it has started. _She thought.

In an instant, something happened which no one could have expected - the pigtail haired female collapsed to the ground, blood started dripping down from her head, her right hand was paralysing and burns were showing up on several body parts. However, Teto was not unconscious yet.

The lighthearted atmosphere instantly became tensed and serious.

'Nngh...I did not expect it would hurt this much.' Mumbling, Teto forced a smile while crouching.

'!' _No wonder there was no pain or injury. _Len, Neru and Nero immediately figured out something.

'T-Teto? Why?' Rin was stunned and confused, having a worried expression.

'Kh!' Sending icy death stares at Sylvette, the crimson haired female clenched her fist. 'It must be your doing.' Before she drew out a cleaver, Mikuo stopped her. His eyes indicated that she was wrong.

'It is not her, Kiku.' Teto informed, finding it tough to speak while enduring the injuries.

'Teto, you did it willingly...right?' Len inquired, not understanding why went so far to help them.

'I...' She hesitated on explaining, but then realised that keeping quiet would not solve anything.

'I am experiencing the effect of ''Injury and Pain Transfer'' which is a type of spell that only Shirotora clansmen can use. those who are linked to this spell will not receive any pain or injury during battle. Also, it can only last for ninety minutes.' Pausing for awhile, Teto laid her back against Mikuo's.

'So the injuries and pain will be directly transferred to the user?' Nero inquired. Teto nodded before continuing.

'However, the user will not immediately experience the pain or receive the injuries until the ninety minutes are up.'

Realising that her bleeding was worsening, Rin and Kiku untied the ribbon on their head and used them to bandage Teto's left and right arm.

_You are so reckless._ The side-ponytailed female thought, astounded by how far she would do in order to aid her friends. 'You could have told us about that spell before we went for our individual battles.' She stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

'...Everyone would not go all out if I told,' Teto avoided Neru's gaze. Then, her eyes showed seriousness. 'I just wanted to help all of you as best as I could...because...because,' her hands began shuddering as she clenched them, 'all along I was unable to do anything while everyone was doing their best to fight.' Her voice was shaking as a tear fell. 'This feeling is the worst.'

'...' Having a disheartened expression, Rin wanted to cheer Teto up but did not know how to.

'Am I selfish?' She had an apologetic expression as more tears flowed, she attempted controlling them but to no avail.

'You are too kind, Teto.' Placing a hand on her head, Mikuo smiled slightly.

After a while, Nero spoke. 'Transferring the pain and injuries back to us will definitely ease your suffering now.' He had been thinking of ways to solve the unpleasant situation and decided that this was the best solution. 'Since you can transfer our pain and injuries to yourself, then you can transfer them back to us right?'

'!' Everyone else widened their eyes as they did not thought of it.

'No way, I can't do that.' The pigtail haired female frowned, 'the injuries will hurt you a lot. Also, that will defeat my purpose for activating that spell.'

'But you are experiencing all our wounds at one shot.' The twins told in unison,having a worried expression.

'Please, Teto.' Rin had a shaky voice, 'transfer them.' She hugged her tightly.

'I...' Hesitating, Teto had a troubled expression.

'You said that we are friends right?' Neru flushed slightly while glancing sideway. 'Sharing our pain is what friends are for.' She mumbled. Before Teto knew it, she was sobbing again. Clutching tighter onto Rin's shirt, she hugged back.

The next moment, a light pinkish magic circle emerged on the ground where everyone were standing or sitting. Only the air within the magic circle swirled in spiral fashion as Teto manipulated the codes.

'I deactivated it. Prepare yourself.' she warned in a melancholic tone, somehow having a sense of guilt.

'!' Kiku suddenly felt several pain on both thighs and arms as severe slashes and cuts appeared.

'Nngh...' A volt waltzed through the twins, paralysing them as they crouched down, holding onto their bodies tightly.

'...' Nero and Neru clenched their fists, enduring the immense pain.

The pigtail haired female was gradually recovering as the injuries were being transferred back to her friends. Immediately, she untied Rin's and Kiku's ribbons and returned them back.

'Sorry, they are stained with blood.' She had an apologetic expression. Rin shook her head, indicating that she did not mind. Without wasting a moment, Teto created a light pinkish sphere on both hands and started healing them one by one.

Mikuo was the only one with the least injuries, having minor burns on both arms and there were cuts on his body and legs.

'You dodged well during that battle.' Swifting her hair behind her shoulders in a slightly arrogant way, Sylvette commented.

The crimson haired female shot her a look like a dagger. 'You are not planning any devious methods now, are you?' She pressed a palm against the tree trunk beside her, forcing herself to stand.

'!' That statement caught everyone's attention as it was possible.

'Heh, don't think lowly of me.' The dark haired female felt insulted, 'I prefer a fair fight.'

'...' Len thought for awhile before inquiring something. 'You lost all your powers right?'

She nodded.

Blinking his eyes once with seriousness, Len realised something.

'You lost all your powers now right?' He inquired.

She nodded, displaying a questioning look.

'Then, can you still transfer us back to Excalique World without your power?'

'...'She stared at him, not replying. Instantly, everyone stared at her with expectant looks.

'Pfft!' Sylvette wanted to laugh but managed to control it. 'All of you really believe about that teleportation and portal?'

Question marks floated above their head as they remembered that Sylvette was the one who transferred them to this world when they were at Hoshikawa Lake. Neru and Nero got to this parallel world a few days ahead of Mikuo with her help too.

'Then, I shall tell the truth.' She stated, 'actually I did not transfer or teleport anyone through a portal...you did it yourself.' She placed her left hand on her hip.

'Hmm, I see.' Folding his arms, Mikuo closed his eyes and thought for awhile. Suddenly, his expression changed. 'Eh?!'

'We did it ourselves?' The twins wondered if that was possible.

Kiku, Neru and Nero had an expression of don't-joke-around.

'Well, all you need to do is to image yourself being transported to another parallel world. At that time when you were in Hoshikawa Lake, you actually image yourself, thus you reached this world.' The dark haired female added.

'So if we image ourselves being transferred to Excalique World,' Len spoke.

'We will immediately return back to it?' Rin continued. Sylvette nodded in response.

'However, it all depends on how strong your imagination is.'

'Heh,' Nero had a cold smile, 'you make it sound as though we are living in two false worlds.' He commented.

'Don't get me wrong, these worlds are real. The ''image stuff'' only applies to you getting transferred between Excalique World and this parallel world.' She corrected.

'Ehhh...?' Having whirls of confusion in her eyes, Teto was unable to keep up with that conversation. 'C-Complicated...'

'Anyway,' The dark haired female turned around, 'this is farewell. I don't think we will meet again. Well, at least I hope not.' She began strolling off.

'Wait a minute, I only have one question.' Mikuo told in a serious tone. Halting without turning her head to face him, Sylvette waited for his question.

'Why did you create the Devoured Night cycle?'

She finally turned around to face him, hanging an evil smile. 'I had a grudge against Excalique World...I am sure that you realised that my power, that bright silvery flame, is not possessed by any clan. I am different from everyone else,' her eyes sharpened, 'so for some reason, the people deemed me as a dangerous existence. Someone was sent to seal me at Hoshikawa Lake when I was nine. Immediately after the sealing, seven pendants emerged. If all of them gathered, the sealing spell will break and I will be released. Hence, the person who sealed me away hid all of them into this parallel world so that no one can find them.'

Sylvette clenched her fists as she continued to speak in a frustrated tone. 'That kind of treatment was extremely unfair...what do they think me as? Some kind of monster? During those years of confinement, I thought of methods to escape from that prison life, but those plans failed. Then, I decided to come up with a rumour - anyone who retrieved the seven pendants will have his single wish granted.'

'The people from Excalique World stole my freedom, thus my hostility towards that world increased. Despite my confinement, my powers were able to reach that world. Hence, I created the Devoured Night cycle, planning to make everyone suffer.'

Neru gave a cold smile. 'You seemed to be shallow-minded.' She commented which made Sylvette had an anger mark on her forehead. However, the dark haired female maintained her composure.

'But as you can see,' she continued, 'my plan failed...I don't mind anyway, since I am powerless now.'

'And,' she flushed a little to the side, 'I realised not all people from Excalique World are vicious.' Sylvette referred to them. Apparently, she was touched by what happened a few moments ago. 'So anyway...I hope we don't meet again.' With that, she left to begin her new life (at least that was what Mikuo assumed).

'All that explanation was troublesome.' Sylvette mumbled to herself upon leaving.

.

.

.

.  
After her leave, the silence continued while Teto proceeded the healing process. Gradually, the twins' injuries lightened and they no longer feel pain anywhere.

'Teto,' a female voice spoke, 'you don't have to heal us too.' Neru smiled slightly, already standing up.

'But both of you are still injured.' The pigtail haired female tilted her head.

'We will manage somehow.' Stretching his arms, Nero stated. Rin instantly realised what they meant.

'...' She clenched her fist slightly, 'we will meet again...right?' She inquired with expectant eyes, looking straight towards the ponytailed female.

Neru blinked her eyes once, surprised by her sudden question. Then, she smiled slightly. 'Who knows...' She told in a fascinated tone.

Rin held Neru's right hand with both palms. 'It is a promise, okay?' She grinned.

'H-Hn.' She nodded, caught off guard by her reaction. Hiding his smirking expression, Nero took his leave first. When his sister caught up to him, he spoke.

'You had gotten more cheerful recently.'

'Hah? N-not really.' She glanced sideway.

* * *

(Same sparse meadow beside the city, 7:03 p.m.)

After healing Mikuo who was the last person, Teto gave a sigh of relief. 'Ahh~, It's really all over. Everything that happened in this world was fun!' She grinned.

'Except those pointless examinations.' The crimson haired female stated, having an expression of those-are-the-worst.

'The Matsuri festival is the best!' The pigtail haired female punched her fist to the air.

'Hm-hm, I overcame my acrophobia.' Rin had a proud expression while putting both hands on her hip. Len doubted it, having a smirking expression.

'Oh? Really?'

'W-Well, somehow.' Rin avoided his gaze nervously.

'Anyway,' Teto spoke in a cheerful tone, 'let's explore this world for some time more before returning back to Excalique World!' She beamed, punching her left fist up again.

'Oh!' The twins and Mikuo did the same for the fun of it while Kiku simply nodded in consentment.

_But still in the end, being with everyone is the best!_ The azure blue haired male thought, tilting his head up to gaze at the scarlet sky.

* * *

Ayano: Hehe, this is the last chapter. Thanks for reading all the way to the end. ^^

Thanks for the reviews too -w-


End file.
